THE three top business chambers in Pampanga, Angeles City and Clark Freeport gathered on Monday, March 11, in a historic meeting meant to draw a common stand on issues and concerns surrounding ongoing and future developments in Pampanga and Clark.

Gathering for the first ever joint board meeting at the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) board room here were officers of the Pampanga Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (PamCham), Metro Angeles Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (MACCII) and the Clark Investors and Locators Association (CILA). They were joined by BCDA President Vince Dizon, Clark Development Corporation President Noel Manankil and Clark International Airport Corporation President Jaime Melo.

PamCham president Rene Romero told SunStar Pampanga that the meeting’s objective was to align common advocacies of the three business groups.

“For decades, I have been trying to organize a meeting of the three chambers in Pampanga. The objective is to have a common stand on economic, social and environmental issues as well as look into the total development of Pampanga and Clark. This is historic because this is the first time,” he said.

Romero added that the members and officers of the three chambers are looking forward to regularizing the joint board meetings.

“If this will continue, there will be a lot of things that can be accomplished for our respective communities by the chambers who are doing their right mission to make places liveable. We are committed to this,” he stressed.

For his part, PamCham chairman Emeritus Levy Laus said that the initial meeting had very good results since interests for development are intertwined.

“This historic meeting had very good results. The interests of Pampanga, Clark and Angeles City are actually intertwined. We are the locals in the Metro Clark area because if you take note of the many investors here, not too many are from Pampanga,” he said.

Growth inside the Clark Freeport and New Clark City, Laus noted, should be side by side with the growth outside of the area.

“Definitely, let us not be overwhelmed or blindsided by what we actually see or projected to us, will happen. We must also bear in mind the people who have been here since birth. The people who struggled to develop the area in their own way, given limitations in terms of capital. Let’s think of their future. While Clark will help in the development in anything outside of it, still, the interests of the local business people is very important. It should grow side by side with the growth inside,” he said. (Chris Navarro with JTD)