(Alex Cauguiran champions workers of the Metro Clark localities. Contributed Photo)
ANGELES CITY – Mayoralty bet and KAMBILAN official candidate, Alexander S. Cauguiran, said he will push for a policy that would prioritize the residents of the cities of Angeles and Mabalacat and the municipalities of Porac, Bamban and Capas in the employment of workers at the Clark Freeport Zone (CFZ).
Caugurian issued the statement during Monday’s flag ceremony at the Balibago barangay hall where he was invited as guest speaker by newly-installed barangay chairman Tony Mamac.
Caugurian also expressed support to the thrust of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) and the Clark Development Corp. (CDC) to pursue four major areas of development consisting of the CFZ, Clark Global City, Clark International Airport, and New Clark City.
“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.
“There are compelling reasons for this policy. The five local government units (Angeles City, City of Mabalacat, Porac, Bamban 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.
“Section 15 of R.A. 7227,” Cauguiran pointed out, “explicitly provides that: Subject to the concurrence by resolution of the local government units directly affected, the president is hereby authorized to create by executive proclamation a Special Economic Zone covering the lands occupied by the Clark military reservations and its contiguous extensions as embraced, covered and defined by the 1947 Military Bases Agreement between the Philippines and the United States of America… located within the territorial jurisdiction of Angeles City, Municipalities of Mabalacat and Porac, Province of Pampanga, and the municipality of Bamban and Capas, Province of Tarlac.” Without the LGUs’ concurrence, the CSEZ could not have been created, he pointed out.
“Another equally important reason,” Cauguiran said, “is that the LGUs around the base will shoulder the greater burden of the social cost of the surge of economic activities in Clark. The LGUs 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.”
“I will definitely propose that these LGUs firm up a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the BCDA, CDC and the Clark Investors and Locators Association (CILA), specifically ensuring that their qualified residents be given priority in the recruitment of employees. The MOA shall also provide a mechanism particularly in the allocation of employment slots based on the number of the LGU’s population,” Cauguiran said.
“A human resource coordination office may also be established inside Clark where representatives from the LGUs, BCDA, CDC, and CILA ensure enforcement terms and conditions of the MOA,” he added.
“Of course, we recognize that for highly specialized positions for which local residents would not qualify – we will respect the locators’ right to hire workers either from abroad or from other areas,” Cauguiran said.
However, he stressed that in order 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 would maximize our residents’ chances for employment,” he said.
“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.
“At the latest count, there are about 107,000 in Clark. But with the recent developments, the number of jobs will definitely increase by leaps and bounds, and our residents should be able to enjoy these opportunities, not only in terms of employment, but also in other local businesses that support the industries inside Clark,” Cauguiran said.
