Tuesday, July 01, 2008 Clark investors push for EO 500B By Reynaldo G. Navales
CLARK FREEPORT -- Locators in the Freeport reiterated their appeal to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for the immediate passage of Executive Order (EO) 500B which is expected to open up more flights at the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA).
In a letter to the President, Clark Investment Locators Association (Cila) president Jeannie del Rosario-Ng said: "There is a pressing need for the passage of EO 500B which will attract more flights at DMIA."
Del Rosario-Ng cited that the declaration of Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza making DMIA as the Port of Entry is not the answer.
"We would like to reiterate our plea for the passage of EO 500B, while the aforementioned declaration will undoubtedly redound to the benefits for DMIA, we still believe that there is a pressing need to enact EO 500B," she said.
Among the reasons she stated are the Asean Open Skies may take time before full implementation. The Asean Open Skies applies only to capital cities.
DMIA may not be covered. It is not ready to handle the full traffic of the Asean Open Skies, which covers only designated carriers and Asean members.
Many of the airlines calling on DMIA are neither nor from Asean members.
The group also urged President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to conduct more Air Talks so as to benefit the gains of economic progress especially in the airline industry of the Philippines.
"We would like to advocate for the scheduling and successful conclusion of air talks with our major and new partners in tourism, trade and overseas employment and the acceptance of proposals by other countries for liberal air access to enable long-term growth and development of the aviation industry in general," Del Rosario-Ng also said.
Cila is the biggest group of locators and investors with various businesses established inside Freeport.
The Freeport has more than 400 locators with an employment of more than 50,000 mostly coming from the provinces of Pampanga, Tarlac, Zambales and the nearby towns and cities in Central Luzon.
"We, the locators of the Clark Freeport, believe in the potentials for the Scad Corridor; and have invested significant time, money, and effort to be part of what your administration’s vision to be the major economic growth center for this country," Del Rosario-Ng added.
She however expressed gratitude to Mendoza for declaring DMIA as the Port of Entry for the forthcoming Asean Open Skies road map which is expected to be signed this December.
"We believe that this declaration, in the long run, will help in realizing your vision of making Subic-Clark Corridor as a world-class Regional Hub with DMIA as the centerpiece. But it is not enough since, it only covers capital cities, not DMIA," she said.
"We thank you for all the support you have given us in the past and pray that you will continue to assist us in terms of economic policy reform so we may able to complete in the global arena," she told the President.
