Senate bill seeks CL as commerce hub

The whole area of Central Luzon will be a preferred place for investment

Central Luzon is targeted as a regional investment and infrastructure hub in a bill recently filed in the Senate.

The bill identified the region as ideal for major trade and investment activities due to its strategic location as a gateway to Asia, its accessibility to three international airports, expanding infrastructure facilities and competitive industrial estates and economic zones.

Senator Richard J. Gordon, who sponsored the bill, started public hearings on it.

Gordon expressed optimism that Senate Bill 1549 or the Regional Investment and Infrastructure Coordinating Hub (RICH) of Central Luzon, once signed into law, would serve as an engine for economic growth and promote and encourage entrepreneurships and create various jobs and business opportunities for Filipino people.

Priority area for capital

“The whole area of Central Luzon will be a preferred place for investment. We could easily give a big contribution to the GDP (gross domestic product) once we generate investment. We revised the bill to give the usual incentive of five percent of the gross and that we will allow the governors and officials of the agencies to look for 200 to 300 hectare areas that they can plan on their own and develop. If this is approved, I am sure we can get the necessary investments in answer to what COVID has destroyed,” he said.

Similarly, Senator Christopher Lawrence "Bong" Go said, in a manifestation, that he fully supports the opening of a new airport in Bulacan.

Asian multinational San Miguel Corp. will put up a P735.6 billion airport project in Bulakan, Bulacan which will be an alternative to the congested Ninoy Aquino International Airport.