District I Representative Beng Climaco has expressed support to the call for the abolition of the cabotage law to help lower the shipping cost of goods—one issue that has affected development.

At the same time, the lady solon has cited the need for the review of the Citus tax to allow remittance of industries to go to Zamboanga City and not in Makati City where officers are located.

This, as the Mindanao Affairs Committee in the House of Congress Wednesday discussed the possible abolition of the two laws—measures, which solons from this part of the country feel, cause delay in development.

“We support this move because this has affected our development. The industrial group and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry saw the high cost of shipping as burden and wrote to me in previous congress to address this,” Climaco said referring to the Cabotage law.

The Wikipedia defines cabotage as the transport of passenger and goods. Originally, it referred specifically to shipping, but cabotage also applies to airlines, trucking, and trains. Many nations have cabotage laws which dictate the terms which carriers must follow when transporting people or materials within their borders. Many of these laws are designed to promote the development of domestic transport companies, and some cabotage laws have been criticized because they can restrict free trade.

As Deputy Speaker for Mindanao, Climaco is confident that the request of the Industrial Group and the Zamboanga Chamber of Commerce and Industry will be given due attention and appropriate action.

On the other hand, there are moves to repeal the Citus tax to ensure that tax remittances by companies or industries maintaining branches in Zamboanga City will go to the coffers of the city and not in Makati where their head offices are located.

Climaco said the review of these two laws is among the major concerns of the Mindanao block that she wants acted upon the soonest possible time.