THE House of Representatives on Friday in its marathon hearings tackled the budgets of the Zamboanga City Special Economic Zone Authority (ZCEZA), Southern Philippines Development Authority (SPDA), and the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA).
House Rules Committee Deputy Minority Leader Mujiv Hataman (Lone District, Basilan) stood on interpellation and posed questions dealing with identifying the eco-zone which generated the highest income, the profit gainers and losers among the government owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs), and asset performance of GOCCs such as the ZCEZA and SPDA, and their operational sustainability.
House Committee on Appropriations Vice Chairperson Rep. Angelica Natasha Co (Party-list, BHW), sponsor of the budgets of the above-cited GOCCs, replied that ZCEZA has the smallest income at negative P13 million, explaining that ZCEZA’s income generation was derailed by the Covid-19 pandemic but for this year the economic zone is starting to gain income. ZCEZA’s proposed 2024 budget is P207-M.
Rep. Hataman also asked on the sustainability of the operational expenses of the eco-zone when it is incurring losses despite new appropriations every year from the national government. Rep. Co answered that the maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE) of the eco-zone is subsidized by the government and included in its appropriations, she said business activities is expected to pick up more in the coming years.
Rep. Hataman also asked about the SPDA’s total assets. Rep. Co explained that the SPDA has P11.6-B total assets and earned P11.9-B in 2022. Rep. Co added that the SPDA has agro industrial projects as well as business infrastructures from which additional income may be generated so that government subsidy may no longer be needed. She also cited that the SPDA is banking on idle assets, infrastructures as investments for its future income in the future.
Rep. Hataman asked for the economic road map of both agencies. He said that there are GOCCs with big incomes and there are GOOCs incurring losses but not due to mismanagement but due to non-performing assets of GOCCs. “Ang tingin ko ho sa mga darating na panahon dapat, una i-socialize natin ang pag subsidize sa mga government corporation halimbawa si Zamboanga economic zone. Kung klaro ang plano nila sa mga darating na panahon, by year na ganito, kikita sila o si SPDA ang tingin ko iappropriate lang na bawasan ang pondo ng ilan at ibigay dun sa ibang GOCCs para kumikita yung ilan GOCCs para makatulong sa national government,” Hataman said.
Rules Committee Senior Deputy Minority Leader Rep. Paul Daza moved for the omnibus termination of the budget deliberation on ZCEZA, SPDA, including the Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan, Cagayan Economic Zone Authority and the Bases Conversion and Development Authority.
Deliberations for the budget of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority only took less than five minutes, as interpellator Rules Rep. Daza moved to terminate budget deliberation. Under the 2024 National Expenditure Program (NEP) the P661,010,000 proposed budget of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) shall be used for its economic zone infrastructure development.