GMA hails Aurora special economic zone

BALER, Aurora , Philippines   – President Arroyo hailed last week the Aurora special economic zone in Casiguran town in northern Aurora as the linchpin of the province’s economic growth, saying the project would entice foreign investors to come to the impoverished province.

Speaking during the 400th anniversary of this capital town at the municipal compound here Wednesday morning, Mrs.. Arroyo said the people of the province, which belongs to the so-called “Club 20,” will begin to feel the effects of progress and development once the economic zone starts commercial operation next year.

“Sa ngayon nararamdaman na ang kaunlaran sa Aurora. May kasunod pa at yan ay ang Aurora Special Economic Zone Authority (Right now, development is now being felt in Aurora. There’s a sequel to this, the Aurora Special Economic Zone Auhority),” she said.

She said that the economic zone would hasten the influx of investments and creation of jobs in the province.

Mrs. Arroyo said foreign investors who have expressed interest in the economic zone include Spanish, Japanese and European traders, saying she expects economic growth to start in the province by the first quarter of next year.

She said that at present, the rapid development of Aurora is now being felt with the construction of various infrastructures such as the Casiguran airport and seaport, the Tarlac-Nueva Ecija-Dingalan Port Road and the Baler-Casiguran Road. The province, she noted, even hosted the Mutya ng Pilipinas beauty pageant.

She noted that the P150-million airport is now 80 percent complete while the P2.2-billion, 120-km. Baler-Casiguran is halfway through.

“Ramdam na ang kaunlaran sa Aurora (Aurora’s development is now being felt),” she said, echoing her favorite development battlecry.

Bayan ng Baler

The President led here the unveiling of the “Bayan ng Baler” historical marker for its 400th anniversary as a muni­cipality, coinciding with the late Commonwealth President Manuel Luis Quezon’s 131st birth anniversary.

She was joined by the Angaras – Sen. Edgardo Angara, House Deputy Majority Leader Juan Edgardo Angara, Gov. Bellaflor Angara-Castillo and Mayor Arthur Angara and the rest of Balerianos in the celebration of the Pistang Bayan 2009 in this town, the birthplace of Quezon, considered the father of the national language.