Foreign and local investors inside the Clark Freeport Zone may no longer be able to continue operations unless the government grants them a reprieve on rentals and other government fees incurred during the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) lockdown.
Indignant members of the Clark Investors and Locators Association (CILA) have called on the Bases Conversion and Development Authority and the Clark Development Corporation to grant them reprieve on rentals amid the economic pinch brought by COVID-19.
In a letter to CDC President and CEO Noel Manakil dated March 16, 2020, CILA said “businesses have started to feel the drastic effect of the pandemic with steep decline in production, operation and sales.”
The Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) enforced last March 16, 2020 shut down business operations and all movements as the country grappled with the COVID pandemic which already claimed more than 18,086 Filipinos and killed more than 957 as of May 31, 2020.
“With the travel bans implemented since the start of outbreak, the hospitality sector like the hotels and resorts have recorded their lowest occupancy rates of 30-40% from the normal 80-90%,” said CILA.
The Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) companies have also started to implement remote work setups that led them with no internal support to process their local transactions and administrative functions, according to CILA.
“CILA, as the prime business organization of Clark Freeport Zone, are asking your good office to consider giving relief on government shares and/or rental dues of the locators affected by the pandemic.”
After two months with no reply from CDC, CILA sought the intervention of BCDA reiterating their “request for rental and other government monthly charges reprieve for the locators in Clark.”
In a letter to CDA PCEO Vivencio Dizon dated May 14, 2020, CILA said “they were given the impression that our request has been approved in principle by the board and just awaiting the proper clearances from concerned government agencies.”
With no concrete actions coming from CDC and BCDA, CILA on June 2 2020, again followed up on “the status of our request for rental and other government fees reprieve during the two-month Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ).”
“Our members are at a tipping point on whether to continue operating in the Clark Freeport Zone and any positive feedback from your end will come a long way in persuading them to remain here in Clark,” CILA told both BCDA and CDC.