AIMING to become the next important area in Tarlac province, Capas, a first-class municipality, situated some 107 kilometers from Avenida, Manila, will soon become a city, next to Tarlac City.
Covering a land area of 43,148.55 hectares, this former military reservation is known to be the site of the Mt. Pinatubo crater, the
Death March shrine marker and the soon-to-be developed Clark Green City.
Established in 1710 along with the oldest towns of Tarlac such as Bamban, Paniqui and Tarlac, Capas is composed of 20 barangays, namely: Lawy, chaired by Hon. Edwin Tolentino, O' Donnell, by Hon. Clodualdo Gamboa; Aranguren, by Hon. Estela Manlupig; Sto. Domingo I, by Hon. Jefferson M. Garcia; Sto. Domingo II, by Hon. Edwin Lucas Baron; Talaga, by Hon. Aurora Bumanlag; Sta. Lucia, by Hon. Victorino Escoto; Bueno, by Hon. Danny Agdeppa; Sta. Juliana, by Hon. Jude Lenon; Estrada, by Hon. Jimmy Dimatulac; Maruglu, by Hon. Jaime Gawat; Sta. Rita, by Hon. Arnold Arcilla; Sto. Rosario, by Hon. Solomon Sicat, Jr.; Cristo Rey, by Hon. Arturo Joves; Cubcub, by Hon. Marilyn Dizon; Cutcut I, by Hon. Ruben Nolasco; Cutcut II, by Hon. Florencio Mamucud; Manlapig, by Hon. Teodoro Tanglao, Jr.; Manga, by Hon. Ricardo Tabamo and Dolores, by Hon. Alejandro Duenas.
Capas is the site of a large sanitary landfill operated by Metro Clark Waste Management Corp. It is the Clark Integrated Manpower Facility, specifically situated at Sub Zone D, Clark Special Economic Zone at Kalangitan. It is the first and only ISO 9001-2008 certified landfill in Asia, being Category 4 as Sanitary Landfill and Category C as treatment, storage and disposal facility.
Capas boasts of the soon-to-rise Clark Green City, a 9,450-hectare state-of-the-art metropolis which promises to be disaster-resilient green and smart and will bring a bonanza to its residents as well as the inhabitants of neighboring towns.
It is the single, biggest feature of the massive development plan in Central Luzon which will house various government agencies, business establishments, agro-industries and tourist-oriented enterprises. It is a mixed-use project which will address different global climate change concerns.
Clark Green City, as its name implies, will adopt smart and green features and will employ the latest in technological advances.
Accessibility: While Capas is about 107 kilometers away from Manila, it is only 15 minutes away from the Clark International Airport and 10 minutes from Subic-Clark-Tarlac expressway leading to other directions such as Subic and NLEX.
The local government unit of Capas is headed by Mayor Reynaldo Catacutan, Vice Mayor Roseller Rodriguez and Councilors Felipe Ong, Jesus Lopez, Danilo Dizon, Reynaldo Ramos, Porfirio Laxamana Juliet Jimenez, Rene Pineda, Alex Espinosa, ABC President Teodoro Tanglao, Jr., and IP Representative Rodrigo Gutierrez, as ex-officio members.
As of 2007, the town's population stood at 122,089 spread over 23,716 household, while its annual income for2017 is P373,399,899. Its total land area is 43,148.55 and with the onset of the New Clark Green City, Capas could increase in size.
The dream of Capas residents of seeing their town become a city in the near future is a spitting reality and with the stewardship of Mayor ReyCat, this dream is considered fulfilled.
My thanks to Engr. Beltran, Municipal Administrator and Czarina Buscayno, Municipal Information Officer and Editor of the Official Biannual Travel and Business Public Service Program of Capas, from where I excerpted some info and relevant pictures.