Will Escolta be future Clarke Quay?

The Manila mayor invites investors to take a look at Escolta for their developments and enjoy tax breaks.

In a bid to revive Escolta, which served as Manila’s financial center until the Nineties, Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso is offering investors and developers tax exemptions of up to 15 years if they will transform the area into a bustling business and commercial district.

However, the mayor, who made the offer during a business forum in Taguig City, said a development can only enjoy the tax break if it has at least 20 floors and 70 percent of the company’s workforce in Escolta will be Manila residents.

“If we will earn P1 per square meter each year and I give way, after 15 years a businessman will have recovered his investment. And on the 16th year, Manila will have a windfall without raising taxes,” Domagoso said.

“Naturally crimes will die because the people now have a living. That is the initial effect of our giving way,” he added.

The offer is intended to encourage the private sector to develop Escolta into a riverside tourist destination similar to Singapore’s Clarke Quay.

“I want to change the skyline of Escolta, but no one wants to buy something rotten,” Domagoso said. “Just wait for it and go along with it. If I start any developments here, it would be a waste because everything would eventually become too costly.”

Members of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) are interested with the mayor’s proposal, but they will wait first for his overall plan.

“Compared to other cities, I have never heard of such an offer,” he said. “We are excited. It is out-of-the-box,” said PCCI president George Barcelon.

The PCCI earlier gave Moreno a P20 million check to fund the rehabilitation of Jones Bridge, which serves as the entryway to Escolta.