Calamba offers jab plants perks

We’ll give all the incentives these businesses want because it’s about cooperation.

Calamba City is inviting investors to the city to boost the Philippines’ thrust to host vaccine manufacturing facilities as the country pushes to be vax self-reliant by 2022.

“We’ll give all the incentives these businesses want because it’s about cooperation. It’s not an issue of money. It’s an issue of survival. I’m glad to host them,” Calamba City Mayor Atty. Justin Timmy Chipeco told Daily Tribune’s “Straight Talk” on Tuesday.

At least six companies are expressing interest in putting up vaccine manufacturing facilities in the country, one of them a distributor of a South Korean company and still others having extensive facilities in Asia.

The country expressed willingness to extend numerous business perks, such as a five- or six-year income tax holiday as well as preferential treatment in public procurements.

These companies can also benefit from the ease of doing business in Calamba City, which has been able to spur its phenomenal growth as one of the country’s premier economic zones.

Calamba is home to more than 200 multinational industrial firms and 5,000 commercial establishments mostly scattered around at least nine industrial estates. These are the Silangan

Canlubang Industrial Estate, Allegis IT Park, Carmelray International Business Park, Carmelray Industrial Parks 1 and 2, Calamba Premier International Park, Filinvest Technology Park, Light Industry and Science Park 2, YTMI Realty Special Economic Zone.

These businesses can enjoy the city’s fiscal incentives. Enterprises wishing to register but are under the administration of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority and are still enjoying their tax holidays, meanwhile, are exempted from enjoying fiscal incentives. They can, however, enjoy the non-fiscal and green incentives upon approval of their registrations.

Calamba City is also extending tax credit for donations to the city, where registered enterprises donating immovable or movable property or money to the city for its priority projects, such as socialized housing projects, resettlement sites, right-of-way acquisition, public markets, bus terminals, health projects, educational institutions, scholarships, government centers and sports facilities may be entitled to tax credit equivalent to 100 percent of cash donation or 50 percent of the fair market value of the property donated.

Aside from the vaccine hubs and other health services, investment opportunities in information and communication technology and business-process outsourcing, establishment or operation of retirement centers, tourism development, agriculture, commercial and leisure centers, and real-estate development are preferred.