Salceda: ‘Corrected version’ of Bulacan freeport bill to address Marcos’ concerns

FILE PHOTO: Albay 2nd Dist. Rep. Joey Salceda

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s concerns on the bill that would have created the Bulacan Airport City Special Economic Zone and Freeport will be addressed in a “corrected version” of the proposal.

According to Albay 2nd Dist. Rep. Joey Salceda, Marcos Jr.’s veto of the bill is valid and understandable.

Marcos Jr. vetoed the bill due to supposed substantial financial risks to the country, particularly raising concerns about taxation.

“While I was not one of the original proponents of the vetoed bill, I hope to help move this bill forward by filing a corrected version. The President’s concerns are valid, so we have to take heed,” Salceda, former chairperson of the ways and means committee in the 18th Congress and an economic analyst and manager, said in a statement.

“We propose that the bill explicitly state that the ecozone shall be fully subject to the rules, procedures (including approvals), and regulations under Title XIII of the Tax Code (CREATE Act). We also propose explicitly stating that the power of the ecozone authority to grant incentives shall be a delegated power from the Fiscal Incentives Review Board,” he added.

Marcos Jr.’s letter dated July 1 said the bill that would have made the $15 billion airport city in Bulacan a special economic zone and freeport would have contradicted the government’s goal of developing a low-rate tax system.

READ: Bongbong Marcos vetoes bill on Bulacan Airport City ecozone

Also, he said that the bill conflicted with existing mandates of other government agencies and lacked “coherence with existing laws, rules and regulations by failing to provide audit provisions for the Commission on Audit.”

He likewise mentioned there were no clear rules and procedures “for the expropriation of lands awarded to agrarian beneficiaries” while lacking a “master plan for the specific metes and bounds of the economic zone.”

READ: First veto: Bongbong Marcos nixes Bulacan freeport bill

Salceda was one of the supporters of tax perks for the San Miguel Corp.-led New Manila International Airport project, stressing that the jobs the airport city would generate could surpass the risks that the tax exemptions may bring.

READ: Tax perks for Bulacan airport project backed

As to the real score on whether the government would lose more than it would gain with the tax exemptions in place, Salceda believes Congress would require a cost-and-benefit analysis of different scenarios.

“The House will require a cost-and-benefit analysis. So, as early as now, I am telling potential investors and other proponents to give us a sense of their plans so that we can already weigh the costs versus the benefits,” he said.

“What I can assure the President and the public is that we will make sure that the concerns in the veto message are addressed,” he added.

The lawmaker also assured that Marcos Jr.’s move to veto the bill would not affect the airport’s construction.

“RA 11506, the franchise of the airport, is unaffected by the veto of the ecozone bill. So the airport will definitely push through still,” he noted.

KGA/abc