In a public hearing at the Senator Laurel Room here shortly before the adjournment of Congress, the committee chaired by Sen. Mar Roxas approved House Bill 5309, entitled "An Act establishing the Aurora Special Economic Zone and Freeport Authority."
Sen. Edgardo Angara said the passage of HB 5309 would represent the vanguard of development in undeveloped areas not only in his home province of Aurora but also in other parts of the country. "You can’t attract investors unless there’s a framework. There has to be a catalyst. It’s a chicken-and-egg proposition," he said.
Angara, who defended the bill’s passage before the committee and in the presence of resource speakers, said the measure will be the subject of plenary deliberations. He said the Senate has enough time to deliberate and approve the measure with four remaining session days after the May elections and reconcile the House and Senate versions.
Aside from HB 5309, the committee also approved six similar bills creating economic zones in the provinces of Palawan, Cebu, South Cotabato, Bataan and Surigao del Sur.
Roxas said the general intent of the ecozone bills is provide impetus for development. "Inherent in all the bills is public investments which will spur development. The incentive packages conform to the package prescribed by the PEZA (Philippine Export Zone Authority)," he said.
"The important thing is getting things started," Roxas said.
Angara’s younger sister, Aurora Gov. Bellaflor Angara-Castillo said during the hearing that the passage of the measure would enable her province to realize its dream of becoming an investments haven in the country.
Angara’s son, House Deputy Minority Leader Juan Edgardo Angara, who authored HB 5309, said the measure would effectively respond to the urgent national effort to minimize, if not eradicate poverty, among the citizenry in the area which belongs to the so-called Club 20, or the 20 poorest provinces in the country.
The bill proposes the development of the province into a self-sustaining industrial, commercial, financial, investment and tourism/recreational center with Freeport and suitable retirement/residential areas to generate jobs and effectively encourage and attract legitimate and productive foreign investments.
The younger Angara, however, introduced amendments to the original bill by confining the economic zone to only 500 hectares, covering barangays Esteves, Dibet and Dibacong in this coastal town from the original proposed location in the capital town of Baler embracing the other towns of Dilasag, Dinalungan, Dipaculao, Dingalan, San Luis and Ma. Aurora.
The amendments were made after officials from the Department of Finance (DOF) and the Bureau of Customs (BOC) expressed reservations over the proposal, saying the influx of freeports might abet smuggling.
Ma. Lourdes Recente, director of the research and information office of the DOF, said the proliferation of seaports would not only encourage smuggling but also endanger the domestic economy.