NUP seeks creation of gov’t agency for New Clark City economic zone

The National Unity Party (NUP) filed a bill Monday to establish a government agency that would govern its proposed establishment of an Advanced Industries Zone in New Clark City in Pampanga while also taking advantage of the Pax Silica declaration.

NUP Chairperson and House Deputy Speaker Ronaldo Puno said that the measure that their coalition was pushing was meant to aid the country’s economy, which he described as “radically suffering.”

The lawmaker expressed the need to capitalize on foreign investment opportunities like Pax Silica, in order to create more jobs for the public while increasing government revenues through renewed business interests.

“We need something that will reverse this trend, suddenly, it can not be in the next five to ten years, we need to do this right away. That is why there is an urgency for us to file this bill today,” Puno said, highlighting the importance of their bill.

In their proposed bill, NUP sought to maximize commercial interest in the 1,350 hectares land economic zone in New Clark City by requiring a P15 billion minimum investment from every business that would be constructing their establishments in the area.

While not closed to local investors, Puno said that the proposal could attract more foreign investment and disclosed that there was “informal” information that a lot of people were planning to situate their businesses in the economic zone.

“We are coming up with a law that we believe will put us at par or better than other industrial zones or economic zones in the rest of the world. We want to be first in the list of areas that people will consider," he stated.

To ensure compliance with international standards for economic zones, the bill likewise pushed for the creation of the Advanced Industry Development Authority (AIDA) that would maintain the liberal practice of trade between businesses.

Another particular factor that Puno wanted to highlight was the sheer amount of jobs that the area would generate, with their lowest estimates indicating that 150,000 new jobs could be created.

In order to accomplish the measure, the House leader said that it was important for the Philippines to redevelop its infrastructure program, particularly as they planned on having a separate water and energy source for the 1,350 hectare space.

Puno said that the economic zone would function as a “self-contained area,” shielding locals from around the area from fears that their water and electrical resources would be depleted.

He also denounced notions that the area was going to solely cater to data-centers and a cloud base space, maintaining that the area would be the center of the economy.

As part of their filing of the measure, Puno mentioned that NUP would also be proposing for the House Committee on Rules to establish a joint committee that would immediately tackle the measure in order to ensure that AIDA collaborated with other economic zones in the country.

“Of course we don’t have all the answers…there are many agencies that have studied this. This is the end product of all the discussions that have gone on,” he stated.

“Our party believes that this is one of the keys to recovery for our country and we are really going to push this law to be legislated at the earliest possible time,” he added.

Aside from Puno, other NUP members in Camarines Sur Rep. Miguel Villafuerte, Manila Rep. Rolando Valeriano, Cavite Rep. Ramon “Jolo” Revilla, Negros Occidental Rep. Alfredo Marañon, and Bataan Rep. Albert “Abet” Garcia were all signatories in the bill.

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