Incoming Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri tonight (July 2) said the veto by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr, of the Bulacan Airport Special Economic Zone and Freeport bill is "unfortunate."
Zubiri stressed that he respects the veto powers of the President under the Philippine Constitution.
"I also respect and recognize the position of the Department of Finance that no new economic zone shall be established," he said.
"However, the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) law does not ban the establishment of new economic zones as long as it conforms with the new fiscal and non-fiscal incentives under the CREATE law and as long as it conforms with the strict regulatory powers of the Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB)," he pointed out..
Zubiri emphasized that the Bulacan Airport City Special Economic Zone is envisioned to complement the construction of one of the largest airports in the region and to make it not just a transportation hub but a manufacturing hub as well, in the hope of bringing in much-needed investments and thousands of jobs for the people of Central Luzon.
"That is why we made sure that the bill conforms with the provisions of CREATE law on the new incentives regime," he added.