The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said its regional disaster response command center and logistics hub will be located in Clark Freeport.
On Friday, July 11, Secretary Rex Gatchalian and officials of Clark International Airport Corporation (CIAC), Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) and Provincial Government of Pampanga signed a memorandum of agreement for the facility.
The center is expected to provide faster and more efficient delivery of aid during calamities.
Located in a one-hectare area inside the Clark Aviation Complex, the facility will serve as a regional warehouse for food and other relief items and a disaster response command center for DSWD-3.
"We know that in disaster preparedness, you should always be ready, whatever happens. The President [Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.] wants us to have a fallback position which is Clark because of its strategic location, highways and airport which can accommodate the C-130s that we use in transporting our goods," Gatchalian said.
He thanked CIAC for its generosity in accommodating the facility. "Kasi may building na, eh. We just have to retrofit it. Kaya mabilisan ito," he added.
Gatchalian also expressed gratitude to Gov Lilia Pineda, whom he said made sure about the inter-agency collaboration.
For his part, CIAC President Jojit Alcazar expressed support to the DSWD, citing the project’s critical role in strengthening disaster response across the region.
“We welcome the establishment of this command and logistics center at Clark Aviation Capital. It will serve as a strategic storage and distribution point for relief goods and supplies, ensuring faster and more effective operations during emergencies. This is part of CIAC’s contribution to national disaster preparedness,” he said.
The Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation, the National Government Administrative Center, the Integrated Operations Center for Disaster Response Management, Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, Bureau of Fire Protection, and Philippine Pharmaceutical Procurement Inc. are also located in Clark.