President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed Memorandum Order No. 29 on August 6, extending the East ASEAN Growth Area (EAGA) travel tax exemption until June 2028.
M.O. 29 extends the travel tax exemption to all EAGA-bound passengers originating from international airports or ports in Mindanao and Palawan.
“The travel tax exemption also applies to passengers with confirmed connecting flights from Mindanao and Palawan to BIMP-EAGA within 24 hours on the same day, in cases where no direct flights are available from the passenger’s point of origin in Mindanao and Palawan to any destination in BIMP-EAGA,” the MO states.
According to Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) Secretary and Philippine signing minister Leo Tereso Magno, the President’s recent directive underscores the importance of accelerating the economic growth of Mindanao and Palawan as focus areas of the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) and in the greater context of ASEAN integration.
“This move clearly demonstrates the strong commitment of the Marcos administration to Mindanao’s progress and transformation, even as we continue to push for major strategic initiatives to reinvigorate the sub-regional grouping,” Magno said.
Magno stressed that MinDA is working in close collaboration with key agencies and development partners to strengthen transportation linkages by reviving suspended flights between Mindanao and EAGA areas, supporting existing and proposed air and sea linkages, and improving terminal facilities in Mindanao ports and airports.
The exemption from payment of travel tax, amounting to about P 1,600, started in 1995 as a policy modification initiative of the government in support of BIMP-EAGA. This time-bounded policy, usually covering a period of 5 years, has since been renewed by every administration.
In March of last year, the House of Representatives endorsed the travel tax exemption by adopting House Resolution No. 61, authored by Sultan Kudarat Rep. Princess Rihan Mangudadatu Sakaluran, Chair of the Special Committee on EAGA Affairs and a Member of the MinDA Board.
BIMP-EAGA, formed officially in 1994 under the initiative of the Philippine Government, is an economic complementation of regional areas of the four participating countries and is aimed at stimulating growth within the sub-region.
Joji Ilagan Bian, chair of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) Committee on BIMP-EAGA, said the move is a welcome development for the private sector, which has been regarded as the engine of growth of the BIMP-EAGA initiative.
“We laud the President for this positive and encouraging government action on the efforts to promote the mobility of people, goods, and services between Mindanao and other EAGA countries,” Bian added.
Mindanao’s existing direct transport link to EAGA is being sustained by sea links between Zamboanga and Sandakan, while the revival of direct flights between Davao and Manado and the establishment of a proposed Zamboanga-Kota Kinabalu air link are currently being worked out.
Photos: Bing Gonzales
