Thursday, September 28, 2006 Guv, PB press Senate approval of Clark tax bills By Dante M. Fabian
CLARK ECOZONE -- Governor Mark Lapid on Wednesday reiterated his call to members of the Senate to immediately act on the two pending bills for Clark "to rectify an error and inconsistency in investment policy" and prevent investors in special economic zones from pulling out their multibillion-peso investments in the country.
Lapid said: "We are concerned, not only about the billions of pesos in salaries and wages paid by Clark firms to local labor force, but more in terms of economic well-being of our constituents."
The call of Lapid to pass Senate Bills (SBs) 2259 and 2260 stemmed after being informed that investors in various economic zones, notably in Clark, were rethinking their investments in the country and mulling relocation to other countries if no legislative measures would be passed to correct the July 29, 2005 Supreme Court (SC) decision which nullifies the granting of tax and duty free privileges to economic zones.
"We know the impact of economic zones to our local and national economy. I believe that the meaningful fulfillment of the general welfare clause can only be effected if more of my constituents have jobs to sustain the daily lives of their respective families. The passage of House Bills (HBs) 4900 and 5064 in Congress gave hope to our aspiration of protecting the interests of our constituents working in Clark and the further propagation of investments," he said in his letter to the Senate.
With this, the governor appealed to the Upper Chamber to approve the pending bills in Clark as "this measure will remedy the lack of expressed provisions of law to provide tax incentives to locators of reverted baselands, as well as protecting the livelihood of 45,000 Filipinos working in Clark."
Meanwhile, members of the Provincial Board (PB) of Pampanga passed a resolution reiterating support for the legislative remedies that would uphold and honor government commitment to grant tax and duty free incentives for investors and locators inside the CSEZ.
Resolution No. 724, sponsored by Board Members Nestor Tolentino and Prospero Lagman, also urged the Senate for the timely enactment of SB 2259 for "an act declaring a one-time amnesty on certain tax and duty liabilities, inclusive of fees, fines, penalties, interests and other additions thereto, incurred by certain business enterprises operating within the special economic zone and freeports created under Executive Order (EO) 80, series of 1993; Proclamation No. 420, series of 1994; Proclamation No. 984 series of 1997, pursuant to Section 15 of Republic Act (RA) 7227, as mended, and for other purposes; and SB 2260 Re: An act amending RA 7227, as amended, otherwise known as the Bases Conversion and Development Act of 1992.
Recently, members of the House of Representatives approved House Bills 4900 and 5064 -- sponsored by former congressman now Education Secretary Jesli Lapus -- to remedy the absence of a categorical provision regarding fiscal incentives in the four ecozones under RA 7227, as only provided for their respective executive orders or proclamations.
Clark has also registered 15 percent export growth with P54 billion annual income, including the remittance of taxes of P1.2 billion to the national treasury.
Approximately P35 billion worth of investments have been poured in Clark since the creation of the economic zone here in 1993. These may all go down the drain if no legislative measures are undertaken to restore tax and duty free privileges for Clark investors.
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