BACOLOD City – Members of the Sangguniang Panlungsod asked President Rodrigo Duterte to make the Bacolod Capitol Corporate Center (BCCC) a special economic zone.
They wanted to prevent the relocation of a business process outsourcing company leasing the BCCC building whose operation hinges on the site being declared as such.
Under the Special Economic Zone Act, the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) was created to “develop special economic zones throughout the country, giving very competitive incentives to investments” put up inside such zones.
The PEZA approved Board Resolution 17-040 in January 2017 endorsing the application of the BCCC for the special economic zone status to the Department of Trade and Industry, the city council said in a resolution.
The DTI endorsed the Board Resolution to the Office of the President on March 5, 2017.
The Office of the Deputy Executive Secretary for General Administration received it on March 27 that year under Tracking No. RE1811437, the council said.
According to the councilors, the entire BCCC building has been leased to ARB Call Facilities, Inc., a financial services company that was encouraged to set up shop in the city due to its “highly educated population.”
Unless the BCCC is declared a special economic zone that comes with incentives, the company “cannot operate in Bacolod City and [will] likely relocate one of their facilities outside of the Philippines instead,” stated the resolution authored by Councilor Em Ang.
The city government may use the revenue brought in by the investment from ARB Call Facilities, Inc. to fund social services, the resolution stated./PN
