House okays bill creating Aurora special economic zone

BALER, Aurora — The House of Representatives has approved on third and final reading a bill creating the Aurora Special Economic Zone and Freeport Authority.

House Deputy Minority Leader Juan Edgardo Angara told The STAR that House Bill 5309 establishing the Aurora Special Economic Zone and Freeport Authority would effectively respond to the urgent national effort to minimize, if not eradicate poverty, in the province, which belongs to the so-called Club 20, or the 20 poorest provinces in the country.

HB 5309 is now being deliberated in four Senate panels, namely the committees on economic affairs, local governments, ways and means, and finance.

The bill, according to Angara, 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 to attract legitimate and productive foreign investments.

The young Angara, son of Sen. Edgardo Angara and nephew of Aurora Gov. Bellaflor Angara-Castillo, said the envisioned seaports would provide international accessibility critical to the influx of foreign capital.

The "Aurora ecozone," on the other hand, would provide an alternative location for investments in the country considering Aurora’s abundant human and natural resources such as rich and arable agricultural lands, diverse marine life and mineral resources such as manganese, chromium, copper and nickel.

The ecozone shall cover the municipalities of Casiguran, Dilasag, Dinalungan, Dipaculao, Dingalan, San Luis, Ma. Aurora and this capital town, subject to the concurrence of the local governments concerned.

It shall be provided with transportation, telecommunications and other facilities needed to attract legitimate and productive investments, generate linkage industries and employment opportunities for the province and neighboring towns and cities.

In its explanatory note, HB 5309 cited the government’s declared policy to actively encourage, produce, induce and accelerate a sound and balanced industrial, economic and social development so as to provide jobs, especially in the rural areas, and increase productivity and family incomes.

The Aurora Special Economic Zone and Freeport Authority shall be under the direct control and supervision of the Office of the President.

It is proposed to operate for a period of 50 years with its principal office to be located in this town. It shall have an authorized capital stock of P2 billion with a minimum issue value of P10 each. An initial P250 million will come from the national government.

Foreign companies may set up enterprises in the ecozone either by themselves or in joint ventures with Filipinos.

Foreign investors, who locate in the ecozone and with a capital investment of not less than $150,000, shall be granted, along with their spouse, dependents and unmarried children below 21 years of age, permanent resident status and freedom of ingress and egress within the ecozone without the need for any special authorization from the Bureau of Immigration.

Foreign executives and technicians with highly specialized skills that no Filipino possesses, as certified by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), shall be issued working visas renewable every two years.

The measure grants tax exemptions for business establishments operating in the ecozone under Republic Act 7916 or the Special Economic Zone Act of 1995 or under Executive Order 226, the Omnibus Investments Code of 1987.

During the previous Congress, Angara-Castillo, who was then a congresswoman, filed a similar bill later approved by the Senate but was vetoed in 1998 by then President Fidel Ramos.