Cebu ecozone bill now in Congress

The business community is preparing for a more challenging fight now that the Cebu Economic Development Zone (CEDZ) proposal is now grilled at the House of Representatives.

Aside from the study group headed by former Board of Investment (BOI) official Gerry Sta. Ana, the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) is also forming a technical group to focus on the technicalities of the CEDZ proposal, this will be headed by former chamber  president, lawyer Anastacio Muntuerto Jr.

CCCI president Francis O. Monera said there will be a re-grouping of the CEDZ, and that the two groups will focus on different aspects of the proposal, Sta. Ana will lead the conducting of further studies to back up the bid and is also tasked to invite more Congressmen to support the House Bill No. 1319 or the CEDZ.

Muntuerto, on the other hand, is expected to fill out the details and technicalities of the proposal as the private sector expects this bill to be a very controversial one.

“We would like to enlighten the other Congressmen about the bill. We consider this a very crucial move for Cebu and the chamber, but we have to do this,” Monera said.

According to Monera the CEDZ Bill is gunning for better incentives for investors apart from those offered by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA).

If approved, a Cebu Economic Development Zone Authority (CEDZA) will be created, which will be a private sector initiated body and will function independently from PEZA. However, the board members of the proposed zone will compose of representatives from the private sector and government officials from both the provincial and local units.

Monera said CCCI, as well as the eight Cebuano Congressmen who committed their support and authored the bill, are already bracing themselves for a tough fight ahead to get the bill through the scrutiny of the entire house and eventually be passed into law.

Earlier, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo expressed her confidence on the proposal saying “it’s viable”, however said the success of the bill lies in the hands of the supporting Cebuano Congressmen.