Hinimok ni House Ways and Means Committee Chair at Albay Representative Joey Salceda si Pangulong Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos Jr. na magtalaga na ng permanenteng Director General para sa Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA).
Ito’y kasunod ang kumpirmasyon sa appointment ni Sec. Alfredo Pascual sa Commission on Appointments (CA) bilang kalihim ng Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
Punto ni Salceda na mahalaga na magkaroon ng permanenteng lider ang PEZA ng sa gayon matututukan nito na makahikayat ng malalaking kumpanya na mamumuhuna sa bansa.
“The world is beginning to go back to pre-pandemic normalcy, as Secretary Pascual would know. So, some unique windows of opportunity to take advantage of COVID-19 worries of multinational firms are also closing. We need a PEZA DG who can shoot decisively in the hunt for big whales and big elephants of investors,” pahayag ni Salceda.
Naniniwala si Salceda na agad makapagrekumenda si Secretary Pascual kay Pangulong Marcos sa kung sino ang magiging susunod na PEZA Director General.
Paliwanag ng economist solon na mas may kapangyariahan ang Director General kumpara sa isang OIC.
Binigyang-diin ni Salceda na kailangan maging agresibo ang Pilipinas sa ating Foreign Direct Investment at protektahan ang ating Gross International Reserves at banta ng currency-related shocks.
Inihayag ni Salceda na ang permanenteng PEZA Director General ay maaring makapag negotiate gaya ng incentives sa mga malalaking mamumuhunan.
“The services sector is straightforward, almost ministerial. But manufacturing, especially capital-intensive manufacturing, requires more tailor-fit incentives and various other forms of support. During PGMA’s time, we provided special electricity cost and access incentives to Texas Instruments through EO no. 666, s. 2007. That is a non-fiscal incentive that is perfectly allowed under CREATE,” wika ni Salceda.
