A challenging job for Raul Lambino

For years, news that came out of the Cagayan Special Economic Zone and Freeport (CSEZFP) in Casambalangan village in Santa Ana, Cagayan province was mostly about Port Irene. It was about second-hand Japanese- and Korean-made cars that were periodically shipped there as imports. When throngs of people descended there, the hustle and bustle never seemed to end.

But the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA) is not all about Port Irene, or the trade of second-hand cars, which has ceased. As an economic zone, it has tremendous potential to host North Luzon’s biggest industrial park, complete with a township, serviced by an international seaport, and fully enabled by technology to transact business online with Asia and the rest of the world.