House committee okays Northern Cebu Ecozone Bill

REP. Benhur Salimbangon (Cebu Province, 4th district) said the House committee on trade and industry recently approved his proposal to create an economic zone and tourist destination in Northern Cebu.

Salimbangon said he requested President Rodrigo Duterte to endorse it as one of the priority bills in the Congress to fastrack the approval process.

The lawmaker said that if his bill will be approved into law, this will partly decongest Metro Cebu’s trade activities.

He said that investors can avail themselves of tax holidays for five years and tax-free importation of equipment and raw materials.

The conditions, though, are for investors to hire only local employees and for them to pay local taxes like business permits, among others.

He said that if the industries will grow and the tax incentives will expire, the city and municipal governments, as well as Cebu Province, can collect taxes in accordance with the Local Government Code.

‘Spark economic growth’

The congressman added that at present, the development is concentrated in Metro Cebu which he described as “not good” because it creates traffic and migration from the countryside.

“Every time we talk of development, the people think of Metro Cebu for business and job opportunities, which is wrong. What we need to do is put up the infrastructure in Northern Cebu to spark economic growth,” Salimbangon said.

He said that while Mactan Economic Zone has only 160 hectares of congested areas, Northern Cebu has thousands of hectares of flat lands.

‘Good development’

Sought for comment, Cebu Business Club president Gordon Alan Joseph yesterday said the approval of the bill in the committee level is a good development.

He, however, noted that for this project to succeed, connectivity is required like better roads, shipping and rail connections to facilitate a seamless flow of goods and people.

“Congressman Salimbangon did a great job in developing this as this will spur development away from the crowded urban centers,” said Joseph. with KOC

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