Clark Freeport—The Clark Development Corporation (CDC) and members of the Metro Clark Advisory Council (MCAC) together with key officials of Clark Investors and Locators Association (CILA) on Wednesday convened here to harmonize new guidelines and protocols to prepare for transition and downgrading from the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ).
During the meeting, CDC President and CEO Noel F. Manankil said that an adoption of coordinated policies and rules will help Clark and the surrounding communities.
“We understand that the LGUs surrounding Clark will also be coming up with their own protocols and 95 percent of the workers in Clark are coming from our LGUs. So, we see the need to harmonize our policies so that there will a clear understanding of restrictions and issues on ground when we transition to General Community Quarantine,” Manankil said.
Some of the salient points discussed in the meeting include proposed guidelines and protocols on entry and exit points of the Freeport, use of permitted transportation, phasing of business operations and workforce, requirements for employees inside and outside the workplace, COVID-19 testing, handling, and tracing among others.
Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) President and CEO Vince Dizon shared via teleconference the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) by-phase protocols and guidelines in transitioning from ECQ to GCQ.
In the presentation, CDC Assistant Vice President for Business Enhancement Rodem Perez likewise mentioned that the state-owned firm’s intended approach in heeding to GCQ will be “calculated and by-phase operations.”
The said meeting was attended by MCAC mayors Crisostomo Garbo of Mabalacat City, Carmelo Lazatin,Jr. of Angeles City, Jose Antonio Feliciano of Bamban and Reynaldo Catacutan of Capas, Tarlac.
Also present are Assistant Vice President for Business Development I Thelma Ocampo, and CDC Communications Division head and MCAC Secretariat Noel G. Tulabut, CDC Public Safety Division Manager Rene Ong and CDC Assistant Vice President for External Affairs Rommel Narciso. Officers and members of Clark Investors and Locators Association (CILA), including CILA Chairman Irineo G. Alvaro, Jr. and CILA President Francisco Villanueva, Texas Instruments government relations director Ralph Morales were also present via video conferencing.
Coinciding with the activity is the distribution of CDC’s donations of P10 million worth of goods to five MCAC LGUs. This is to support and provide additional aid to contiguous communities of this Freeport in their fight against COVID-19.
Each LGU received P2 Million worth of donation intended to further capacitate them in delivering programs and projects for their respective communities amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The donated goods and items donated were based on the needs and requirements of each city and municipality.
The awarding of donations was made possible through the approval and grant of the CDC Board of Directors headed by CDC Chairman Jose “Ping” De Jesus.
Aside from granting additional assistance to adjacent communities of this Freeport, the CDC Board of Directors passed the Resolution R.M. 04-05, Series of 2020 to recognize the collective efforts and initiatives of its locator companies, partner organizations and agencies amidst the crisis. This resolution cites CDC’s “heartfelt gratitude and appreciation to all the COVID-19 Donor-Locators for their significant donations and contributions to the affected sectors of the society in this period of enhanced community quarantine.”