Angeles City”•A mayoralty candidate has crafted a master plan for the creation of a commission that will address the impact of progress and social problems of the massive multibillion-peso investment in the Clark Freeport Zone and its surrounding communities here.
Alexander Cauguiran, who is running under the Kambilkan banner, said the master plan aims to anticipate the future so that progress and development in the Freeport will prepare the local government units near Clark.
The solution is the establishment of a Metro Angeles Council that will oversee the short and long-term solutions of the impact of the Freeport’s development on the lives of the people.
Owing to the conversion of Clark as a growth area of the country, Cauguiran said traffic density in Angeles and nearby communities will reach record highs, threatening the quality of life and safety of the residents.
A former president and CEO of the Clark International Airport, Cauguiran said: “While we welcome progress and development, we also need be wary about the danger, problems and other social ills it may bring to the communities.”
“In a few years from now the population of LGUs will surely triple because of the opportunities offered for business expansion and employment [in Clark],” he said. Romeo Dizon
In a dialogue with residents of barangay Virgen Delos Remedios, Cauguiran stressed social ills like traffic, peace and order, congestion, informal settlers, education, drug addiction, prostitution, calamities, health and sanitation, garbage, poverty reduction, and climate change follow progress and development.
The Metro Angeles Council, he said, will be composed of local officials of the cities of Angeles, San Fernando and Mabalacat, which surround Clark Freeport.
Other towns that may be included in the council are Magalang and Porac in Pampanga, Bamban and Capas in Tarlac province, and representatives of the Clark Investors and Locators Association (CIAC), Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA) and Clark Development Corp. (CDC).
Under the plan, the council will create plans to reduce travel time, remove bottlenecks, deploy quick-response teams, and ensure on-time arrival of people and goods to their destinations.
Cauguiran believes local governments will bear the great burnt of the social impact triggered by the economic development and progress of the former American military base.
The mayoral candidate cited as an example the problem of vehicle traffic that causes Metro Manila to bleed P3.5 billion a day based on the study of Japan International Cooperation Agency.
He urges everybody to share their solutions to the problems, including to the BCDA, CDC, locators, investors and stakeholders so that Metro Manila-level traffic and congestion can be prevented here in Central Luzon.
“There is no progress and development without peace and order in Clark and surrounding communities. Effective peace and order in villages illuminate the country, a peaceful barangay is a peaceful country. Peace and order help in maintaining economic development, social order and political stability,” the former CIAC president said.
The master plan also calls for the installation of CCTVs at the boundaries of connecting jurisdictions interfaced with the local government units’ command centers and with closer operational connection with police authorities, complete with necessary support equipment for immediate response and mobilization.