QC mayor approves SSS development zone ordinance

Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr. has approved an ordinance reclassifying a 55,634-square meter property of the Social Security System (SSS) at the corner of EDSA and East Avenue from an "institutional zone" into a "special development zone."

The reclassification paves the way for the construction of an P8-billion SSS corporate complex that will generate an estimated 15,000 job opportunities in the city.

Council majority leader Ariel Inton, principal author of the ordinance, said the measure was in support of the mayor’s program to make Quezon City a major business destination in the country.

He said the newly approved ordinance will provide employment opportunities to Quezon City residents, who will be given priority during the hiring of personnel for the new business centers that will rise in the complex.

Councilor Winston Castelo, co-sponsor of the ordinance, said that apart from generating employment, the SSS development zone will also become a major source of revenue for the city government.

Other authors of the ordinance are Councilors Victor Ferrer, Rommel Abesamis, Voltaire Liban III, Ramon Medalla, Franz Pumaren, Restituto Malangen and Bayani Hipol.

The ordinance includes a provision that gives the go-signal for the construction of nine high-rise towers, ranging from 19 to 38 storeys. The complex will house the SSS member hall, banks, park facilities, malls and a public transportation hub.

Middle-income housing units with car park facilities and a livelihood center will also developed.

The master plan submitted by the SSS for the special zone was made a component of the newly approved ordinance. — Perseus Echeminada