Villanueva says PBBM’s decision to veto Bulacan ecozone bill ‘unfortunate’; vows to refile bill

Senator Joel Villanueva on Sunday, July 3 joined other lawmakers in saying that President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s decisioin to veto the proposed Bulacan Airport City Special Economic Zone and Freeport as “unfortunate” but vowed to re-file the measure in the 19th Congress.

Villanueva, who hails from Bulacan, said he respects President Marcos’ prerogative to veto a measure.

“We respect the President’s decision to veto this bill as it is his prerogative. As a true-blooded Bulakenyo, we find this decision unfortunate, as the proposal has the potential to create a lot of jobs for Filipinos,” Villanueva said in a statement.

“We fully supported the passage of the Bulacan freeport bill as it aims to provide jobs and livelihoods for our kababayans, as well as develop the country’s economy with investments and infrastructure,” he stressed.

As lawmakers prepare for the opening of the 19th Congress, Villanueva said he is looking forward to working with the new administration and push for proposed legislations and policies that are in harmony with the priorities of the Executive Branch, “especially when it comes to job generation for all Filipinos.”

“We will carefully study on refiling this bill, and even consider other possible proposals such as strengthening the PEZA (Philippine Economic Zone Authority) law,” he said.

Aside from Villanueva, Senators Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri, the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Imee Marcos also described the veto of the Bulacan ecozone measure as unfortunate but said they too respect the veto powers of the President under the Constitution.

Zubiri said the Bulacan ecozone 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.

He said lawmakers made sure that the bill conforms to the provisions of the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Law or Republic Act No. 11534 on the new incentives regime.