Nationalist senatorial bets back Cebuwide ecozone bid

CEBU, Philippines - Nationalist Senatorial candidates Liza Maza and Satur Ocampo will support the proposal of the Cebu business sector in turning the whole island into an economic zone, but not without a condition.

In an interview with The FREEMAN, Senatorial candidate Liza Maza said, “As a matter of concept, we find the proposal agreeable. Economic zones are ok, but what kind of economic zone?”

Maza, who served the House of Representatives for nine years as congresswoman for militant Gabriela Women’s Party, said that the proponents of the proposal should consider the kind of ecozone that they envision Cebu to be.

“Will this be like the Export Processing Zone that are not helping in the development of national industries, but are just assembly lines for multinational foreign companies?” she pointed out, adding that this kind of economic zone have not and will not help improve the economy, rather these zones facilitate the exploitation of workers through cheap labor.

“If the economic zone that will be established will give small and light industries a start, a zone that will give incentives to our Filipino capitalists then this is a different model,” she said in Filipino.

“In Congress we have been advocating for the strengthening of our local industries and the growth of the Filipino business sector,” she added.

“If this is the model that the proponents would push for, then we will support it, but if they will go for the export processing zone model, I doubt that it will help strengthen our economy. We’ve had them for the longest time, but still it has not helped our economy.”

Maza added that she and Ocampo will however bring to Senate, if elected, the bills that they filed that will help ensure the strengthening of the local industries and the economy by empowering farmers and small producers.

She said that they will refile the Genuine Agrarian Reform Bill (GARB) which they believe is more advantageous to the farmers and more effective than the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program Extension with Reforms (CARPER).

“In agricultural development, together with Bayan Muna we have filed a bill, the Rice Industry Development Act, which will strengthen the rice industry by giving subsidies to our rice farmers and the development of seeds,” she said.

Maza also pointed out that she will continue to encourage the regularization of workers, as well as legislated wage increase, the imposition of a debt moratorium and channeling the funds to social services like education, and the eradication of corruption by punishing those who are found to be guilty of any corrupt practices.