ARMM keen on creation of ecozone body

COTABATO CITY — The 24-man Regional Legislative Assembly (RLA) of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao is keen on legislating, after the Ramadan, the proposed creation of the Regional Economic Zone Authority (REZA).

RLA Speaker Ibrahim Ibay said the creation of the REZA, now a priority bill, is supported by businessmen from all over the region, convinced that it will enhance the ARMM economy, long stunted by nagging security problems.

"This is priority bill of the RLA now and we shall see to it that it will be enacted into law as soon as possible," Ibay told The STAR.

Proposed by the ARMM’s Department of Trade and Industry, the REZA, once operational, will have functions similar to the Philippine Economic Zone Authority’s.

"(The REZA) will provide investors with a good venue and a framework for agricultural, industrial, ecotourism, banking and financial ventures in the region," said Ishak Mastura, ARMM’s trade and industry secretary.

The REZA will also oversee the setting up of legal mechanisms for the establishment of special economic zones, export processing zones and industrial estates.

The ARMM covers Marawi City and the impoverished provinces of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi and Basilan. — John Unson