[ Malaya.com.ph ] September 9, 2009
BY IRMA ISIP
The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) is blocking moves for the creation of more government run-economic zones, saying zone development is better left to the private sector where no government expense is required.
PEZA director-general Lilia B. de Lima said government coughs up P2 billion for every one ecozone to build the infrastructure as well as other access facilities. This is on top of the budget that the zone authority created to administer the zone would get from general appropriations.
Congress has been swamped with proposals to create ecozones, some to be run by local government units, to fuel investments in the countryside.
But De Lima said this is no guarantee that investors would flock to these areas, especially if there are no infrastructure in place and the location is markedly depressed.
In most cases, the proposals to create ecozones entail the establishment of their own zone authorities, a job that replicates that of PEZA, or the creation of their own charter that gives them some form of autonomy.
This means additional expenses for the government as it would entail separate appropriations for staffing even if there are no locators yet.
De Lima said she does not oppose the creation of more ecozones so long as the government would not spend any money in their development. An option, she said, is just to have these zones registered with the PEZA for centralized coordination.
"Let private sector do this at no funding from government. Let us not compete with the private sector," De Lima said.
PEZA currently has four government-run zones under its wings plus 118 information technology centers, 64 manufacturing ecozones, nine tourism ecozones, two medical parks, and two agro-industrial ecozones.
At least five bills have been approved proposing for the establishment of ecozones in the provinces of Bataan, Ilocos Sur, Cebu, Davao Oriental, and Samal Island on third reading; Twelve bills approved at the committee level propose to put up ecozones in Pasqui, Ilocos Norte, Bacolod, Iloilo, Romblon, Southern Palawan, Ilocos Norte, Negros Occidental, General Santos, Davao, Misamis Occidental, and Southern Leyte.
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