The tale of Mactan and Clark

I was in Clark, Pampanga last Friday until Monday night and saw for myself the rapid development of the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) and the Clark Freeport Zone. What I saw made me feel that unless we work double-time, Cebu will be left behind in no time as the country’s second busiest international gateway and investment center.

Clark was once the United States Air Force Base. About 40 miles northwest of Metro Manila and just three miles west of Angeles City, the air base was operated by the US government from 1903 to 1991. It covered a total of 14.3 square miles (37 sq km) with a military reservation towards the north that covered another 230 square miles (596 sq km). The air base was the stronghold of the combined US and Philippine forces during World War II and served as the backbone of logistical support during the Vietnam War.

After the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in 1991 and a few months after being refused an extended use of the air base, the Americans left Clark. Gone were the 30,000 military and civilian personnel along with more than a million dollars a day that the US government poured into the area for the operation of the air base. All that was left was a cover of lahar.

Now, the former air base is the site of the 4,400-hectare DMIA and Clark Freeport Zone. A subzone of about 27,600 hectares is also earmarked for future development if needed.

At the rate the former US air base is being developed, it will soon become another huge urban or industrial-commercial-service center that could equal if not surpass Metro Cebu unless we also do our homework to make Cebu more attractive to investors. We are proud of Cebu’s fast growing tourism and IT-enabled industries; this, too can be found in Clark. The only difference is that they have more areas for expansion, including one for the construction of a third runway if necessary. Here, constructing a second runway is already a big question. We cannot even widen most of our city roads anymore for lack of space or because of the high cost of right-of-way.

Under the law that created the Clark Freeport, investors are entitled to the same the same tax-free and other duty-free privileges enjoyed by their counterparts at the Subic Bay Freeport, another large growth zone in Luzon. Under the same law, the former Clark Development Corp. (CDC) will administer the Freeport while its subsidiary, the Clark International Airport Corp., runs the DMIA. By 2007 or just before the last global financial crisis came, about 400 foreign and domestic investors had moved into the zone, with a total investment of more than P24 billion and close to 50,000 workers employed.

Mactan Air Base was once an emergency field for the Strategic Air Command of the US Air Force. Mostly empty with just a few permanent structures and a 10,000-foot concrete runway, the air base was rapidly built and became busy during the Vietnam War. When the Americans left, the air base was transformed into the Mactan International Airport for commercial use, besides becoming the home of the Philippine Air Force in Cebu and site of the first export processing zone built outside of Luzon.

With its strategic location and together with the new international seaport that was also built after the completion of the North Reclamation Project in Cebu City, the new international airport served as one of the main selling points for the development of Cebu into the second largest industrial, commercial and service center in the Philippines. Now, two more export or economic zones are in Mactan, in addition to the ones being developed in the mainland which include several IT buildings that first started to rise at the former Lahug Domestic Airport.

We in Cebu want the MCIA to develop further into a premier gateway in the country. There is a plan to put up more modern facilities at the airport, including the construction of a new terminal building and development of a second runway if possible. Becoming a premier gateway is also the aim of the DMIA. Is there going to be a competition?

Not necessarily. With the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) becoming clogged up already, there is a need now to develop new premier gateways to serve the needs of the northern and southern ends of the country. The DMIA at Clark and MCIA in Mactan can answer these needs.

To do so, the DMIA and MCIA must be planned and developed fast, thus hastening the development of the country outside Metro Manila.

My colleagues and I who visited Clark and toured the airport saw in a presentation how quickly the DMIA was developed in the last 10 years during the time of former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who happens to be from Pampanga. I also saw the urgency with which they prepared their new master plan and proposals for more development to be undertaken at the airport. The same may not be said of MCIA. I hope I am wrong though.