Mayoralty bet pushes ‘residents-first’ hiring policy at Clark

ANGELES City mayoralty bet and Kambilan official candidate Alexander S. Cauguiran said he will push for a policy that “the residents of Angeles City, City of Mabalacat, and the municipalities of Porac and Capas be given priority in the employment of workers at Clark.”

Caugurian issued the statement during the flag ceremony on Monday, January 7, at the Balibago barangay hall where he was invited as guest speaker.

He said he will propose that the four local government units firm up a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), Clark Development Corporation (CDC), and Clark Investors and Locators Association (CILA).

“We need to ensure that the residents of the cities and municipalities immediately surrounding the former baselands will be given first priority in the hiring of workers by investors and locators in the area,” he said.

Clark currently employs 107,000 workers, he said.

“There are compelling reasons for this policy. The four local government units (Angeles City, City of Mabalacat, Porac, and Capas) gave their concurrence for the creation of the Clark Special Economic Zone (CSEZ) – a prerequisite for conversion of the baselands into economic use,” Cauguiran said, citing Section 15 of R.A. 7227.

Another reason is that the local government units around the base will shoulder the greater burden of the social cost of the surge of economic activities in Clark. The local government units will have to respond to problems like vehicular traffic, peace and order, housing, education and health services as a result of the boom in Clark,” he added.

Cauguiran also expressed support for the thrust of the BCDA) and the CDC) to pursue four major areas of development consisting of the Clark Freeport Zone, Clark Global City, Clark International Airport, and New Clark City.

To upgrade Angeles residents’ technical skills and competencies, he would establish a training center as an extension of the City College of Angeles (CCA) where city residents could avail of short-term technical courses in coordination with CILA.

“This is one of the reasons,” Cauguiran said, “for my appeal to the city government to use the P360 million, it had earlier appropriated for the sports complex, for the expansion and improvement of the CCA.