San Fernando City, Pampanga—The National Economic and Development Authority in Central Luzon said Monday that transferring the seat of government from Metro Manila to Clark Freeport is not feasible and will not solve the traffic and decongestion problems in the metro.
Fred Pineda, officer in charge of Neda in Central Luzon, said the proposal is not practical because it will create more technical and financial problems. Such a plan, he added, would need congressional approval.
Transferring millions of people with permanent jobs in Metro Manila is next to impossible, the OIC said.
“Clark is for multi-national businesses and not for government services. “Besides, we cannot compete with multi-nationals,” he added.
Some presidential candidates last Sunday raised the possibility of transferring the seat of government to Clark to solve the traffic crisis in Metro Manila.
If the government really wants to decongest Metro Manila, Pineda added, a feasible and strategic site would be Southern Tagalog. “The value of land is still low.”
It would also be closer to Visayas and Mindanao, bringing the seat of government closer to the people, he added.
The full utilization of Clark Airport is expected to happen in 2020 when the construction of the Northrail system continues from Malolos City to Clark Freeport.
Pineda stressed that full utilization of Clark Airport and Subic Freeport will definitely help decongest Metro Manila in terms of airlines passengers and cargos.
According to Pineda, data showed that more than 50 percent of airline passengers come from Central and Northern Luzon.