Clark Freeport: An epicenter of growth

VITAL LINK With a new and bigger passenger terminal, the Clark International Airport in Clark Freeport in Pampanga boosts local and overseas travel. —CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

CLARK FREEPORT ZONE—Would Pampanga be able to attain its current economic development without this free port zone?

Probably not, as the Clark Freeport Zone has always been the main catalyst in Pampanga’s transformation as arguably the fastest-progressing province in Luzon, outside of Metro Manila.

Officials of the state-owned Clark Development Corp. (CDC), which manages this 4,400-hectare free port, and the Clark Investors and Locators Association (Cila) both agree to this observation.

Gone were the days when the economies of Angeles City, Mabalacat and other towns around and near the former Clark Air Base were dependent on the wants and needs of American servicemen in the former US military facility.

That was the time when small- and medium-scale service-oriented and retail establishments dominated the local economy and the manufacturing sector consisted mainly of the native furniture-making industry.

Today, this free port is a major business and recreation center north of Metro Manila.

Low poverty rate

As proof, lawyer Agnes Devanadera, CDC president and chief executive officer, said Pampanga had one of the lowest poverty rates in the country, at only 2.9 percent in 2021.

Agnes Devanadera, president and chief executive officer of Clark Development Corp. | PHOTO: Energy Regulatory Commission facebook page

“The [Clark] Freeport has been a key driver of progress in Central Luzon, creating jobs, attracting investments, boosting regional trade, and increasing revenue. The National Economic and Development Authority Regional Office 3, the government’s premier planning body, cited the role of this free port in driving Central Luzon’s progress,” she told the Inquirer in an email interview on Oct. 13.

“This is indeed a fact,” said Dr. Irineo Alvaro, chairperson of the Cila advocacy committee, on the premise that this free port is a major factor in Pampanga’s economic progress.

“Cila is a strong partner not only of the CDC but also of the province of Pampanga in terms of using its wide international network by inviting fellow investors locally and abroad to locate either inside the free port or within the province, thereby contributing to the increase of the country’s direct foreign investment, employment and local value chain,” Alvaro, chair of five corporations operating in Clark, added.

As of the end of August, there are 1,113 business locators here that employ 136,836 regular workers.Among these are big foreign-based companies like Phoenix Semiconductor Philippines Corp., United Parcel Service International Inc., Nanox Philippines Inc., Sumidenso Automotive Technologies, Donggwang Clark Corp., Texas Instruments, Rolls-Royce, SMK Electronics Phils. Corp., Yokohama Tire Philippines, and Luen Thai International Group Philippines Inc.

‘Arrowhead’

“Clark is the arrowhead in terms of economic development. The unemployment rate in Central Luzon is at 5 percent, which means that at 95 percent, you have a major contribution to that [development],” said Devanadera.

She noted that when it comes to investments, more businesses are coming in, which helps contribute to national coffers.

According to Devanadera, there are already 161 new locators here since President Marcos assumed office last year.

ECONOMIC HUB Clark Freeport is a major economic driver in Central Luzon. —NIÑO JESUS ORBETA

Clark, she said, is also emerging as an important center for national infrastructure and transportation initiatives led by the Department of Transportation.

“This is the only free port reachable through an international airport, superhighways (Skyway, North Luzon Expressway, Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway, Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway) and a railway in 2026. These projects not only elevate Clark as a premier investment and tourism destination but also position it as a key regional hub within the Philippines and the Asia-Pacific Region,” the state-owned corporation head said.

Devanadera said Clark locators and establishments have been contributing significant amounts to the national government coffers as well as to localities around the free port.

“In 2022, locators in Clark contributed significantly to local governments, with a total of P1.25 billion remitted. Furthermore, the Clark Development Corp. made a record-high remittance of P1.207 billion in cash dividends to the national government for the year 2022, surpassing the previous year’s performance,” she disclosed.

From 2016 to 2022, Devanadera said the CDC had remitted a total of P5.932 billion in cash dividends to the national government, accounting for 74 percent of the total remittances amounting to P7.986 billion since the CDC’s inception in 1993.

To create a more friendly business atmosphere in this free port, the CDC, she said, is now putting emphasis on “ease of doing business” in line with the President’s vision by establishing a business one-stop shop, automating the processes on trade permit applications, permit monitoring systems, and electronic entry and exit pass applications, among others. INQ