Wednesday, December 19, 2012
THE plan to make the entire Cebu province an economic zone has a slim chance of happening, according to Cebu Investment and Promotions Center (CIPC) Joel Mari Yu.
Although advocates of the proposal have good intentions of attracting foreign investments by converting the province into an ecozone, Yu on Tuesday cautioned that Cebu might become a “smuggling risk” if the proposal is passed.
“A venture like this is a big revenue risk. This is difficult to police,” Yu said. He said that under the plan, locators can put up factories even at the most remote part of the province to make operations difficult to monitor. He said this would open opportunities to illegal practices like smuggling.
House Bill No. 1319 or the Cebu Economic Development Zone was filed in the House of Representatives four years ago. The bill is supported by congressmen and local business groups but it was not tackled in the Senate due to preparations for the May 2010 elections.
Last year, Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI), a staunch supporter of the bill, said they will continue pushing for the proposal, which was during that time considered under evaluation.
Environment
Former CCCI president Francis Monera believes the conversion of the Cebu Province into an ecozone will create the “right” environment for business. He cited as example Hainan, China’s largest economic zone, which was a small province that became successful after it was declared an ecozone.
“Why can’t we do the same? Hainan Province moved up fast because they opened the doors to foreign investors via an economic zone,” Monera said.
“This is not a question of viability, because if this conversion will happen, it will be a good thing for Cebu. The question is would the national government let this happen?” Yu said. He said that if Cebu gets the support of the national government, it will be the first province in the Philippines to be an economic zone.
Yu said that if the national government will allow the conversion of provinces into ecozones, Cebu is out of the list. “Chances are they will build it in a depressed province in Mindanao or in any other areas. Cebu is already booming,” he said.
Yu also countered supporters’ claim that declaring Cebu as an ecozone will attract more investments. “This is not true. The problem with Philippines is that we have too many disincentives.”
He said that for the country to continually attract foreign investors, it has to address the high cost of operations such as power rates and labor, poor infrastructure such as roads and transport system and improve bureaucracy even in the barangay level.
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