PGMA's Speech during the Clark Field Centennial Celebration

PGMA's Speech during the Clark Field Centennial Celebration

Departure Area, Diosdado Macapagal International Airport Clark Field, Angeles City, Pampanga (01 Sept 2003)

THANK YOU, SECRETARY ROMULO. EXECUTIVE SECRETARY AND SON OF TARLAC, WHERE PART OF CLARK IS LOCATED.

CLARK DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION CHAIRMAN NAVARRO; CLARK DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION PRESIDENT, MANNY ANGELES; AMBASSADOR RICCIARDONE, REPRESENTING OUR PARTNER IN CLARK SINCE 1903; AMBASSADOR TAKANO, REPRESENTING THE GOVERNMENT THAT HAS ASSISTED SO MUCH IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF CENTRAL LUZON AND CONTINUES TO ASSISTS. QUEKATANG GOVERNOR QUETI QUENG PAMPANGA, GOVERNOR MANUEL LAPID. I HAVE THE NAME OF GOVERNOR YAP HERE BUT I DON'T SEE HIM. I THINK WE SHOULD INVITE HIM TO THE FRONT IF HE'S HERE. WHAT HAPPEN TO OUR PROTOCOL OFFICERS?

I'D LIKE TO GREET ALSO OUR CONGRESSMEN. THE CONGRESSMEN I SEE HERE ARE RIMPY BONDOC, WHO'S BEEN WITH ME SINCE THIS MORNING, AND OCA RODRIGUEZ. WE HAVE THE MAYOR OF ANGELES CITY, WHERE CLARK IS LOCATED, MAYOR TARZAN LAZATIN. WE HAVE SEVERAL MEMBERS OF THE CABINET. AND I'LL NOT MENTION ALL OF THEM BECAUSE THEY ARE ALL INTERSPERSED HERE. EXCEPT OR ASIDE FROM SECRETARY ROMULO, SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION AND COMMUNICATION, LARRY MENDOZA. I MENTION HIM HERE BECAUSE I AM PUTTING THE AIRPORT UNDER THE POLICY SUPERVISION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AND COMMUNICATION.

I'D LIKE TO GREET ALL OF THE OFFICERS AND RANK AND FILE, BOTH OF CLARK DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION AND THE CLARK AIRPORT CORPORATION, AND WHATEVER IS THAT NEW ENTITY THAT IS NOW THE RESULT OF THE COMBINATION AND THE MERGER OF NAIA AND CLARK AIRPORT CORPORATION SO THAT WE CAN MOVE THIS PROJECT FORWARD; DISTINGUISHED GUESTS, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN.

WE HAVE HEARD THE STORY OF CLARK FROM TWO POINTS OF VIEW: MANNY ANGELES FROM THE PHILIPPINE POINT OF VIEW; AMBASSADOR RICCIARDONE FROM THE AMERICAN POINT OF VIEW.

INDEED, OVER A CENTURY, CLARK HAS BEEN A SYMBOL OF HISTORICAL IDEALS. IT WAS THE LARGEST AMERICAN BASE OUTSIDE OF THE UNITED STATES. LARGER THAN PORT OF THE THEN PEARL HARBOR, AT A TIME WHEN OUR MUTUAL SECURITY WAS DEFINED BY THE CHALLENGES OF THE COLD WAR. NOW, IT HAS BECOME A BASTION OF ENTERPRISE AND DEVELOPMENT, A BASE FOR POVERTY ALLEVIATION, A HUB OF NATIONAL PROGRESS.

ON BOTH COUNTS -- SECURITY AND DEVELOPMENT -- CLARK STANDS FOR DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN LIBERATION.

TODAY IS A GOOD TIME TO REMIND OUR PEOPLE TO CAST AWAY THEIR NAGGING FEARS AND REFOCUS THEIR ENERGIES UPON OUR PRIMARY GOAL - ECONOMIC PROGRESS AND THE ERADICATION OF POVERTY -- AND NOT ALLOW THESE TO BE SIDETRACKED BY THE POSTURINGS AND SINISTER ATTEMPTS TO GRAB POWER BY THE FEW AND DESPERATE.

I URGE EVERY CITIZEN TO REMAIN CALM BUT VIGILANT AND THWART ANY ATTEMPTS TO FURTHER DESTABILIZE OUR NATION BY THE DESPERATE, AGAIN, AND THE FEW.

THE PALACE IS OUT OF THE ISSUE ON POLITICAL EXPOSES. THE SENATE HEARING IS COMING UP AND THE EVIDENCE WILL SPEAK FOR ITSELF. LET THE TRUTH PREVAIL AND LET THE AXE FALL WHERE IT MAY.

THE CALL FOR UNITY AGAINST TERRORISM WITH OUR ASIAN COUNTERPARTS IS BUT TIMELY AND PRESSING. TO GORGE A STRATEGIC LINK-UP TO STOP THE SPREAD OF TERRORIST CELLS LINKED TO AL-QAEDA AND JEMAAH ISLAMIAH IS CRUCIAL AND PUSHING FOR A COMMON PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT AGENDA IN THE REGION. THE
BRANCHING OF THESE TERRORIST GROUPS IN SOUTH ASIA AND SOUTHEAST ASIA MUST BE DEALT WITH ON A SUSTAINED, COLLECTIVE BASIS. NATIONS AND PEOPLES MUST
FORM A SOLID FRONT TO TRACK DOWN TERRORISTS ACROSS FRONTIERS.

THE ECONOMY IS DOING RELATIVELY WELL -- 4.5 PERCENT GNP GROWTH RATE FOR THE SECOND QUARTER. AS FAR AS I HAVE SEEN IN OFFICIAL STATISTICS HAS ONLY BEEN SURPASSED BY CHINA AND MALAYSIA. THEY'RE THE ONLY ONES I HAVE SEEN ON OFFICIAL STATISTICS THAT HAVE A BETTER SECOND QUARTER GNP GROWTH RATE THAN OURS. THE SO-CALLED INSTABILITY IS ONLY NOISE ON THE SURFACE. UNDERNEATH, OUR NATION IS SECURE IN ITS MOORINGS, UPHELD BY CONSTITUTIONAL ORDER AND DRIVEN BY A STRONG SPIRIT OF ENTERPRISE THAT WE SEE HERE IN CLARK ECONOMIC ZONE. WITH CALM VIGILANCE, THE FEW AND DESPERATE DESTABILIZERS CANNOT BEAT OUR POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC FUNDAMENTALS. WITH CALM AND VIGILANCE FROM YOU, OUR LEADERS AND CITIZENS, WE SHALL WEATHER THE STORM AND BRING BACK THE GOOD WEATHER TO THE EXCELLENCE AND RESILIENCE OF THE FILIPINO.

THIS AREA IS A GREAT EXAMPLE OF PHILIPPINE COMPETITIVENESS. THE AREA'S COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE IS THE 2,500 HECTARES SPREAD SERVICED BY A WORLD-CLASS AIRPORT WITH 23.2 KILOMETER PARALLEL RUNWAYS.

OVER A YEAR AGO, I DECLARED THE DIOSDADO MACAPAGAL INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT AS THE ALTERNATE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT TO NAIA TO DECONGEST AIR TRAFFIC IN METRO MANILA.

I WAS DISAPPOINTED THAT AFTER A YEAR THE PLANES ARE NOT YET COMING HERE. THAT IS WHY I HAVE DECIDED THAT ON THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF CLARK, WE WILL USE THIS OCCASION TO REINFORCE THAT DECLARATION WITH MONEY FOLLOWING WHERE WE HAVE DECLARED.

THAT IS WHY I FORCED THROUGH THE SIGNING OF A MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CLARK DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION AND THE MANILA AIRPORT AUTHORITY FOR THE DEVELOPMENT, OPERATION AND MANAGEMENT OF THIS AIRPORT. OTHERWISE, THERE WILL BE NO INCENTIVE TO SEND PLANES GOING TO MANILA TO CLARK INSTEAD. THIS AGREEMENT MEANS WE CAN START MOBILIZING MORE FUNDS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF CLARK INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.

I THANK THE CLARK DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY BECAUSE, SO FAR, SINCE I MADE MY DECLARATION LAST YEAR, THEY HAVE SPENT 250 MILLION PESOS TO FIX THE RUNWAY SO THAT IT WILL COMPLY WITH THE WORLD-CLASS STANDARDS OF U.P.S. I THANK THEM, TOO BECAUSE THEY HAVE LAID ASIDE 11 MILLION DOLLARS TO UPGRADE THE RADAR SYSTEM. BUT THAT IS TO MEET THE CARGO REQUIREMENTS. AND I THINK, QUENG CAPAMPANGAN... YOU KNOW, WHEN MANNY ANGELES SAID, I'M THE PRESIDENT THAT HAS VISITED CLARK MOST OFTEN, SIYEMPRE KAPAMPANGAN AKO EH. SIYEMPRE IT'S MY HOME PROVINCE AND ALL. ANYWAY, BUT BECAUSE I AM KAPAMPANGAN I KNOW THAT AS LONG AS IT IS ONLY CARGO PLANES COMING HERE, IT'S NOT YET AN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT. WE'VE GOT TO SEE THE PASSENGER PLANES COMING HERE FROM OTHER COUNTRIES AND GOING TO OTHER COUNTRIES.

AND THAT'S WHY I TALKED TO LARRY MENDOZA. I SAID, "LARRY, HOW CAN WE MAKE THE PASSENGER PLANES GO THERE?" AND HE SAID, "WELL, YOU GOT TO GIVE ME SOME POLICY CONTROL OVER THAT AREA SO I CAN MAKE IT HAPPEN." AND THAT IS WHAT WE'RE MAKING HAPPEN. WITH THIS MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT, THEREFORE, WE CAN ALLOCATE PART OF THE INCOME OF NAIA TO THE DEVELOPMENT REQUIREMENTS OF CLARK INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT OR THE DIOSDADO MACAPAGAL INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.

AND AS A START, THEY ARE SETTING ASIDE 100 MILLION PESOS FOR THE UPGRADING OF THIS AIRPORT. WHERE WILL THEY SPEND THE 100 MILLION PESOS? THEY WILL SPEND FOR INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT LIKE THE APRON CONSTRUCTION. THEY WILL SPEND FOR THE WIDENING OF THE TAXI WAY. THEY WILL SPEND FOR THE PROCUREMENT OF THE RAMP BUS. THEY WILL SPEND FOR THE PROCUREMENT OF ADDITIONAL X-RAY MACHINES TO HANDLE BIGGER LUGGAGES, BECAUSE WHAT AIRLINE WILL COME HERE IF THEIR PASSENGERS WILL WAIT WHILE WE'RE HAVING A MANUAL INSPECTION OF THEIR LUGGAGE.

WE HAVE TO MAKE THIS TERMINAL WORLD-CLASS IN SERVICES AS WELL. AND WE HAVE TO DO THAT. AND THAT IS WHAT NAIA WILL DO TO THE DMIA. ALSO, WE ARE MAKING ARRANGEMENTS FOR PASSENGER AIRLINE TO START COMING HERE. ON MY DAD'S BIRTHDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, ASIANA AIRLINES WILL BE COMING HERE. AND DURING THIS MONTH, TOO, WE ARE ARRANGING THAT THE AIRLINES BRINGING OFWs FROM THE MIDDLE EAST WHERE THE PASSENGERS ARE COMING FROM NORTH OF THE PHILIPPINES WILL BE LANDING IN CLARK RATHER THAN IN NAIA.

YOU SEE NAIA CAN DIRECT THEM THERE NOW AS PART OF THE CONTROL BECAUSE IT HAS NOW ONE ENTITY. AND THEREFORE, WE HOPE THAT THESE AIRLINES WILL BEGIN TO SEE AND GET USED TO THIS BEAUTIFUL RUNWAY, AND WHAT SHOULD BE A BEAUTIFUL BUT ALSO VERY CONVENIENT INTERNATIONAL TERMINAL.

AS ANOTHER SPECIAL GIFT TO THE PEOPLE OF CLARK FIELD AND PAMPANGA, THE REASON WHY I WAS WITH RIMPY BONDOC THIS MORNING IS THAT WE WERE IN HIS DISTRICT WHERE WE INAUGURATED EARLIER TODAY THE NEW CANDABA-SAN SIMON SEGMENT OF THE NORTH LUZON EXPRESSWAY.

THIS BRINGS CLARK CLOSER TO METRO MANILA BECAUSE IT WILL CUT TRAFFIC BY 30 MINUTES GOING FROM QUEZON CITY TO CLARK. TRAVEL TIME FROM BALINTAWAK TO CLARK AND EVEN UP TO STA. INES WILL BECOME CONSIDERABLY REDUCED AND MADE MORE COMFORTABLE WITH THIS IMPROVED ROAD AND THE ADDITION OF 132 KILOMETERS OF ADDITIONAL LANES ALONG THE NORTH EXPRESSWAY. THE COMFORT AND CONVENIENCE PROVIDED BY THESE ROAD IMPROVEMENTS ESPECIALLY WHEN THE ELECTRONIC TOLL SYSTEM SHALL BE COMPLETED WILL SOON BE SEEN.

THE SUSTAINED DEVELOPMENT OF CLARK FIELD AND THE NORTH EXPRESSWAY, THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE AIRPORT ARE ALL A PLAN TO MAKE OUR PROVINCE OF PAMPANGA TRULY AN IMPORTANT HUB OF DEVELOPMENT THAT IT DESERVES TO BE.

EARLIER, RENE DIAZ, PRESIDENTIAL ASSISTANT FOR NORTH LUZON, POINTED OUT TO ME THAT IN THIS TRIP WE ARE LAUNCHING THE THREE WAYS -- THE THREE MODES OF TRANSPORT TO MAKE CLARK CLOSER TO METRO MANILA.

THIS MORNING WAS THE ROAD. THE ROAD THAT CUTS BY 30 MINUTES TRAVEL TIME FROM METRO MANILA TO CLARK. NOW, WE ARE LAUNCHING THE TAKEOVER BY A NEW ENTITY, AN ENTITY COMBINING NAIA AND CIAC INTO A POOL THAT WILL IMPROVE AND MANAGE THIS AIRPORT THAT WILL LAUNCH THE AIR TRANSPORT TO CLARK. AND TOMORROW, I WILL BE GOING HOME FROM CENTRAL LUZON VIA A NEW ROLL ON/ROLL-OFF FERRY FROM BATAAN TO NORTH HARBOR OR SOUTH HARBOR IN METRO MANILA. THAT WAY, YOU WILL HAVE A CHOICE OF HOW TO COME TO OUR BEAUTIFUL PROVINCE BY LAND, BY AIR, BY SEA.

AND, OF COURSE, WITHIN OUR PROVINCE, I HOPE WE'VE ALSO SEEN HOW WE HAVE DECONGESTED TRAVEL ALONG THE OLONGAPO-GAPAN ROAD WE HAVE BUILT IN RECORD TIME, INSTANT, AN OVERPASS. AND WE ARE... AND THEN ON THE SIDE ROAD IN A... ON THE ULTIMATE ROAD THAT OLONGAPO-GAPAN ROAD, THE OLD HIGHWAY, THE GUGU BRIDGE HAS ALREADY BEEN BUILT. AND RIMPY TELLS ME THAT THE IMPROVEMENT OF McARTHUR HIGHWAY, THAT I ORDERED THE LAST TIME I WAS HERE, ALONG SAN SIMON, IS NOW MAKING THE TRAFFIC ALSO IN McARTHUR HIGHWAY MUCH, MUCH LIGHTER.

ALL OF THESE ARE PART OF WHAT WE ARE DOING, NOT ONLY BECAUSE OF THE GOOD OF PAMPANGA BUT ALSO BECAUSE WE WANT TO DECONGEST METRO MANILA. THIS IS ONE OF THE PRIMARY PROGRAMS THAT I ANNOUNCED WAY BACK IN 2001. I SAID THAT WE MUST DECONGEST METRO MANILA NOT ONLY BY IMPROVING TRAFFIC WITHIN METRO MANILA THROUGH A SYSTEM OF THE RAPID TRANSIT THAT WILL GO ALL AROUND METRO MANILA IN AN UNINTERRUPTED CIRCLE, BUT ALSO BY MAKING METRO MANILA MEGAMANILA INSTEAD. MOVING UP NORTH TO CLARK-SUBIC AND MOVING DOWN SOUTH TO CALABARZON AND BATANGAS PORT.

THIS WAY WE HAVE MEGAMANILA BECAUSE DEVELOPMENT NATURALLY IS COMING TO PAMPANGA, TO CALABARZON, WE HAVE TO MAKE THAT DEVELOPMENT CONVENIENT AND WE HAVE TO MAKE IT EASY FOR PEOPLE TO LIVE IN METRO MANILA, IN PAMPANGA, IN BULACAN, IN LAGUNA, IN BATANGAS. THEY MUST BE ABLE TO LIVE ANYWHERE THERE AND WORK ANYWHERE THERE BECAUSE THAT IS THE WAY WE CAN MAKE THIS CORRIDOR, THIS HEARTLAND OF THE PHILIPPINES ONE ECONOMIC WHOLE. THAT IS WHAT WE ARE CELEBRATING TODAY.

AND I AM VERY GLAD TO SEE ALL OF THESE SO MANY YEARS AFTER THE DEVASTATION OF OUR PROVINCE FROM THE ERUPTION OF MOUNT PINATUBO. AT THAT TIME, FOR A MOMENT, WE WERE IN DESPAIR BUT NOT FOR LONG. WE SOON RECOVERED, AND WHILE NOTWITHSTANDING PINATUBO, PAMPANGA HAS ALWAYS REMAINED, NEVER LEFT BEING TOP, ONE OF THE TOP 10 PROVINCES IN THE COUNTRY.

TODAY, MORE THAN A DECADE LATER, WE CONTINUE TO BE UP THERE. WE CONTINUE TO SUPPORT BUSINESS BUT ALSO WE CONTINUE TO TAKE CARE OF THOSE WHO, OF COURSE, STILL ARE VICTIMIZED BY THE PROBLEMS OF PINATUBO. ONE OF THE PROBLEMS THAT PREVENTS PEOPLE FROM RETURNING TO THEIR OWN HOME BARANGAYS EVEN THOUGH THAT THEY ARE SAFE IS THAT THE LANDSCAPE HAS CHANGED. THERE ARE RIVERS WHERE THERE WERE NONE AND THERE ARE NO MORE RIVERS WHERE THERE USED TO BE. SO NOT EVERYBODY KNOWS WHERE HIS LAND REALLY IS LOCATED. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE ARE DOING IS TO SPEND ON THE CADASTRAL SURVEY SO THAT EVERYONE CAN KNOW WHERE HE CAN GO BACK HOME TO.

I HOPE THAT IF ALL OF THESE THINGS THAT WE ARE DOING, PAMPANGA WILL CONTINUE TO BE A LEADER IN OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. AFTER ALL, PAMPANGA HAS BEEN ONE OF THE ORIGINAL EIGHT PROVINCES THAT FOUGHT FOR OUR INDEPENDENCE. PAMPANGA HAS BEEN THE HOME OF TWO PRESIDENTS. PAMPANGA HAS BEEN AND CENTRAL LUZON HAVE BEEN THE HOME OF THE MOST IMPORTANT BASES IN OUR COUNTRY. THEY HAVE BEEN THE SYMBOL OF FRIENDSHIP BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND THE PHILIPPINES. AND PAMPANGA HAS BEEN A FAVORITE FOR OUR OFFICIAL DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE PARTNERS TO PUT THEIR MONEY IN BECAUSE IT IS WELL WORTH SPENDING.

I AM VERY GRATEFUL THAT 100 YEARS AFTER CLARK WAS ESTABLISHED, WE ARE POISED FOR GREATER DEVELOPMENT IN PAMPANGA, CENTRAL LUZON, MEGAMANILA, THE WHOLE PHILIPPINES IN THE 21st CENTURY.

HAPPY CENTENNIAL TO ALL OF US HERE IN CLARK.

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