MANILA, Philippines — There are a total of 19 proposed economic zones in the Senate, according to Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri
As the new chairperson for the committee on economic affairs, Zubiri sought the advice of economic experts present at the briefing. The lawmaker said that there are 19 proposed economic zones, some of which are located in Mindoro, Marinduque, Eastern Visayas, Antique and Cebu.
Zubiri expressed concern over these economic measures under the proposed CREATE More Act, as they might result in potential revenue losses for the government.
“The creation of 19 economic zones will seriously deteriorate your fiscal space,” Zubiri told the Department of Finance (DOF) Assistant Secretary Neil Cabiles, who represented the agency at the briefing.
“Yes, it could erode some of our expected revenue, and we would like to note that we would like to conserve as much as possible on our revenues right now, especially when our consideration is not to introduce any new tax measures over and above what we already have,” Cabiles said.
Zubiri said that these economic zones are individual charters so it will be hard to monitor.
However, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said that there should first be a feasibility study to determine if the economic zones could benefit both the local and national economy.
Should the study reveal favorable results for the economic zone, Balisacan said that it should be allowed to operate.
“We must deploy our scarce in where they can get the most benefits, and to ensure that that is achieved, we require. We must present a feasibility study,” Balisacan said.
What are economic zones?
As per the The Special Economic Zone Act of 1995, these areas (dubbed as ecozones) are chosen based on its development or its potential to be developed as an attraction for investors. Ecozones could become a center for the following industries: agro-industrial, industrial tourist/recreational, commercial, banking, investment and financial centers.
They could also contain a “free trade zone”, which the law described as “an isolated policed area adjacent to a port of entry (as a seaport) and/or airport where imported goods may be unloaded for immediate transshipment or stored, repacked, sorted, mixed, or otherwise manipulated without being subject to import duties.”
According to the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), there are already 419 ecozones in different industries in the Philippines.One of the most well-known examples is the Clark Special Economic Zone in Pampanga and Tarlac.
However, ecozones have been criticized for different reasons, from uneven development and loss of revenue. Beyond the government missing out on possible income from tariffs, there is fear of displacement among the local, vulnerable population.
According to a University of the Philippines discussion paper published in 2022 by Eduardo Tadem, the Clark economic zone encroached on three rural areas occupied by indigenous people.
“SEZs’ (special economic zones) takeover of large tracts of often productive agricultural lands can also be viewed within the context of the global phenomenon of land grabbing, which has come to characterize land transformations in recent years, including the conversion of peasant-controlled lands for commercial plantations and biofuel production,” Tandem wrote.
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