AND THAT’S the “sticky question”. Are ecozones a boon or bane to a city or province’s economic and overall progress including the region’s growth?
Let’s look at the numbers and compare two of the most progressive highly urbanized cities/provinces in the Visayas – Cebu and Iloilo.
And we’re not going into that “Queen City of the South” thingy. Iloilo City is the official Queen City of the South according to the Queen of Spain, period.
Obviously, we did not include Bacolod as it is not even in the league of Cebu and Iloilo with its current problems in basic utilities i.e. power and water, but that’s another story.
Let’s check out Cebu first. The numbers from the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) tell it all.
To date, PEZA has registered 48 ecozones in Cebu province with 640 locator companies generating P275.3 billion in cumulative investments resulting in 232,076 directly generated jobs, and churning out $5.9 billion annual average exports.
Moreover, PEZA locators alone in Mactan island such as the Mactan Economic Zone (MEZ) I and II, Cebu Light Industrial Park, Jpark Island Resort and Waterpark, and Mactan Newtown remitted a total P267 million in tax payments last year from the 2% gross income tax share of the Lapu-Lapu City government.
Quite impressive, I must say.
Meanwhile, compared to Cebu, Iloilo province has far richer resources and can be at par with other regions in the country in terms of manpower, of course.
But when it comes to substantial and game-changing investments from both domestic and foreign investors, Cebu is a mile away.
So far, Western Visayas where Iloilo belongs has a combined 24 economic zones, per PEZA data, mostly in information technology and a handful in manufacturing, agro-industrial, and tourism.
In 2019, Iloilo City lone district Rep. Julienne L. Baronda filed House Bill 5794 seeking for the establishment of the Metro Iloilo Special Economic Zone (MILOECOZONE) and Freeport Authority. MILOECOZONE cover public and reclaimed lands along the coastal side of La Paz district from the Iloilo International Port in Brgy. Loboc to Barangays Hinactacan, San Isidro, and Ingore up to Barangays Bitoon and Balabago in Jaro District.
But the bill appears to have been stuck in the legislation phase, despite support from the PEZA.
On the other hand, Iloilo province’s first ecozone is a 5-floor information technology-business process outsourcing (IT-BPO) facility in Pavia.
But as to the manufacturing sector, Iloilo province has yet to exploit its potentials.
As early as 2018, the Iloilo provincial government named the towns of Miag-ao, Dumangas, Leganes, Concepion and Passi City as potential ecozone areas.
In a conversation with Iloilo Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr., he said that other towns still face the challenge of improving their utility services and systems to attract businesses in their localities.
“We have to start with the fundamentals, [like] power, internet connectivity, and other utilities. Once you have that, then you are, for a great part of it, ready to invite business, because [ecozones] are a privilege granted by the national government. If you have the environment, the facilities, and the infrastructure, it will be easier to lay down.”
Finally, to answer that “sticky question”, yes, ecozones are indeed a boon to any developing and progressive city or province and the main driver for the region’s growth./PN
