MANILA - President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s veto of the Bulacan ecozone was correct as it should not be exempt from government audit, the Philippine Economic Zone Authority said on Monday.

Malacañang on Sunday said the veto of the Bulacan Airport City Special Economic Zone and Freeport was meant to “cure the defects” in the measure, specifically its exemption from reviews by the Commission on Audit.

If Marcos hadn’t vetoed the measure, it would have lapsed into law on July 4, the palace said.

PEZA Director General Charito Plaza called Marcos’ veto “a wise decision of the President.”

“Nobody should be spared from the regular audit and systems and processes of government,” Plaza said in an interview with ANC.

The PEZA chief said it was also better for the planned Bulacan ecozone to be registered under PEZA instead of being legislated as a separate agency.

On Sunday, Malacañang clarified that the construction of the P740 billion international airport in Bulacan will not be affected by the rejection of the ecozone.

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