A HOUSE committee has approved the tax and revenue provisions of a bill proposing to create the Bulacan Airport City Special Economic Zone.
“The new airport will primarily address the long-term population and economic growth of Metro Manila and Luzon provinces, given the limited expansion of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport,” House economic affairs committee chairman and Negros Occidental Rep. Gerardo P. Valmayor, Jr. said.
“The Bulacan area is the only area adjacent to the NCR (National Capital Region) where urban build-up is sparse,” House ways and means chairman and Albay Rep. Jose Ma. Clemente S. Salceda added.
He said establishing an economic zone at Bulacan Airport City will link the ecozones of Manila and Clark.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. vetoed the measure in July 2022 as it may “pose substantial fiscal risks” and be in “conflict with other agencies’ mandates and authorities,” he said in the first veto message of his term.
Mr. Salceda said House Bill No. 2228 includes specific limits on the territorial coverage of the ecozone; a “defined relationship” between government agencies and the ecozone; and a fiscal incentives framework following the Tax Code.
The measure also includes cost-sharing for the zone’s defense and security costs; governance mechanisms in accordance with other ecozone laws; limits on the rule-making functions of the zone’s managers; and audit procedures.
Under the measure, “registered enterprises operating within the Bulacan Ecozone may apply for pertinent fiscal incentives under Title XIII of the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997.”
Special corporate income tax or corporate income tax will be collected from enterprises operating in the ecozone, with 40% to be remitted to the National Government (NG), 40% to the local government, and 20% allocated for infrastructure development projects within the ecozone.
The Bulacan Airport City special economic zone will be overseen by the Office of the President.
The approved provisions will be relayed to the main committees processing the bill, the economic affairs and trade and industry panels. — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz
