No stopping DOTr move to Clark

Arthur Tugade —JOAN BONDOC

CLARK FREEPORT — Except for finishing touches, a two-story building in the former Cyber City hub here is ready to take in the Department of Transportation (DOTr), Clark’s newest tenant, on Friday.

Landscaping work, paint jobs, the installation of a glass door at the main entrance and the removal of construction debris are being rushed amid intermittent rains on Wednesday.

“Finished or not finished, we’re moving to Clark,” said Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade, referring to himself and 104 of 750 personnel of DOTr’s central office.

The first batch of employees to move here consists of staffers of the offices of the secretary and assistant secretaries, according to lawyer Leah Quiambao, assistant secretary for legal affairs and communications.

To usher in good tidings, they will raise the flags of the Philippines and the DOTr in a ceremony on July 28.

The transfer, Tugade said, enforces two policies: In moving to Clark, DOTr is taking the lead in decongesting Metro Manila. Since DOTr is the first national agency to establish its headquarters in Clark, it is starting what may shape up as a national government center.

The transfer will be completed by the end of 2017.

The state-owned Clark Development Corp. renovated the former Cyber City building at a cost of P59.088 million, leasing to DOTr 2,470 square meters at P300 per square a month for 25 years.

Quiambao said the DOTr expected to save P9 million yearly in rentals when it stops using 17 units on top of the 50 units it owns at the Columbia Towers on Ortigas Avenue in Mandaluyong City.

Employees are offered free shuttle to and from Clark on workdays, with the first bus scheduled to leave Ortigas at 5 a.m. and the second bus at Trinoma in Quezon City at 6 a.m. Clark, 100 kilometers from Metro Manila, can be reached by land in an hour.

Quiambao said the agency consulted DOTr employees for arrangements like free shuttle services, flexible time and a four-day work week schedule, as well as assurances that affordable food would be available at their new offices.

“Discussions on subsidized accommodations are also ongoing. DOTr employees were also given the option to transfer or be detailed in any attached agency of DOTr. Also, employees from DOTr-attached agencies who wish to be based in Clark were also given the option to transfer or be detailed to the department,” she said.

A study by the Japan International Cooperation Agency in September 2014 showed that traffic congestion in Metro Manila had led to losses estimated at P2.4 billion daily if it was not addressed. —TONETTE OREJAS