Bill making Cebu a special economic zone nixed
CEBU CITY—This city’s congressman-elect said he would oppose in the 15th Congress a bill aimed at declaring the whole of Cebu as a special economic zone.
Tomas Osmeña, elected representative of Cebu City’s second district, said the bill is both selfish on the part of Cebuanos and divisive for the country.
“If this is passed, the mayors of the towns and cities will be answerable to the economic zone board composed of members of the chamber of commerce,” Osmeña said. “Are the members of the chamber fisherman or farmers? Why will mayors report to them?”
He said the whole proposal is starting to look like a “big tax-evation scheme.”
The bill, set to be refiled for the third time next Congress, had been coauthored by Cebu’s eight congressmen. The Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the main backer of the bill, said the economic zone would spur development in the province by giving tax incentives to investors.
Osmeña said the proposed law would also deprive other provinces of investors.
“We want everything. This is crab mentality, and this is injustice,” he said. “We are creating an imperial Cebu.”
House Bill 1319, creating a Cebu Economic Development Zone, did not pass the 14th Congress despite efforts of Cebuano legislators. If passed, this will be the first time an entire province will be declared an economic zone to lure investors into mainland Cebu, as well as its main outlying island groups Camotes and Bantayan.
The bill’s proponents want to bring investments into Cebu through incentives and tax holidays, particularly on the island’s biggest industries—tourism, exports manufacturing and ICT.
The plan entails the creation of subzones on the island for specific types of investments.
The bill is getting the full support of local businessmen who lobbied for funding from the German Agency for Technical Cooperation to conduct an initial study on the costs and benefits of creating a free port for the whole Cebu.
Another coauthor of the bill, Rep. Ramon Durano IV (Cebu, Fifth District) said the biggest opposition to the measure is from government revenue agencies, as well as local government units, who fear that they will lose revenues from businesses.
He earlier said the costs of creating the economic zone could also be prohibitive. He said a 50-hectare economic zone alone requires P1.2 billion in administrative and infrastructure budget. Cebu has more than 50 towns and cities, along with five major island groups. BusinessMirror