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Monday, August 17, 2020

Zambo now working to stimulate economy

THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT of Zamboanga is now working closely with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for the Covid-19 Recovery and Rehabilitation Plan in an effort to stimulate the economy which was severely affected by the coronavirus pandemic.



Mayor Beng Climaco, who heads the local task force Covid-19, said the economic stimulus package will include among others tax incentives, discounts and reprieve and all these were also presented in various webinars and online conferences.

“The (Recovery and Rehabilitation) plan is based on various online consultations and includes stimulus programs to help the local economy, especially the small business, recover and adapt to the new normal,” she said, adding, the Zamboanga City Planning and Development Office is currently working with USAID.

She added that the proposal includes discounts on amusement, business and real property taxes, waiver on penalties, fines and late payment fees, waiver on tricycle operator’s fee.
Climaco, however, said these instruments require legislative actions and issuances which will entail time due to the required conduct of public hearings by the City Council.

So, she said, to start the process, the City Legal Office was ordered to draft ordinances on the economic packages and endorse them to the City Council.

But while the proposed measures will likely hinder the ability of the city government to meet its revenue targets, Climaco said that National Economic and Development Authority Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon, in a virtual conference, said the national government would step in to “pump prime” the economy for employment opportunities, livelihood generation and adaptation of small business to the new normal.

Pump priming is the action taken to stimulate an economy, usually during a recessionary period, through government spending and interest rate and tax reductions.

The measures are desired to be a balance of showing support to the local businesses and making sure that the local government still has enough war chest to fund its programs and projects.
Climaco also echoed what Acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua said and she urged the cooperation of the various sectors.

Chua said navigating the coronavirus pandemic and thriving in the new normal require a whole-of-society approach, which is vital in the country’s recovery plan. “The government needs the utmost cooperation of the public, the business sector, and civil society in restarting socioeconomic activities while preventing the spread of the virus, and mitigating the ill-effects of this pandemic,” he said. (Zamboanga Post)


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