ANGELES CITY – A local political party with 20,000 card-bearing members has expressed full support to the development of the Clark International Airport (CIA) in Pampanga as the country’s premier international gateway.
The Partido Abe Kapampangan (PAK), in a statement sent last week by its President Alex Cauguiran, said it “expresses its full support to the statement and position of the Pinoy Gumising Ka Movement (PGKM) calling for the decongestion of Metro Manila and the development of the regions (north of Metro Manila).”
“The PGKM position not only makes sense in addressing the perennial flooding problems in Metro Manila, which was PGKM’s take-off point, but in pushing for a balanced and equitable development of the entire country,” the statement added.
The PGKM is chaired by businessman Ruperto Cruz of this city, who has actively called on the national government since the time of former President Ramos to develop the CIA as the premiere international airport of the country.
The PAK is chaired by Mayor Edgardo “Ed” Pamintuan. It has currently 487 chapters based in this city.
The PAK statement cited the PGKM’s consistent clamor to develop the CIA since the early 90’s to spur growth in the four regions of North and Central Luzon.
“The Diosdado Macapagal International Airport at Clark is an example. As early as the Ramos administration, the airport has already been designated as ‘the country’s premier international gateway’ owing to its large and long runways and more than 2,000 hectares of expansion area, in contrast with the dangerously cramped conditions at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).
But efforts at making this designation real has been on and off and, lately, more off than on. It seems that these efforts, if any, have been ambivalent at best,” it said.
“We need not overemphasize on how the airport at Clark could spur development not only in Pampanga but in Central and Northern Luzon.
Such is a no-brainer. But we may need to work a little bit harder for the national government to realize that the solutions to the many problems our country is facing are just at the tip of our noses.
Indeed, kailangan lang natin magising (we need to wake up)!,” it added.
”The Partido Abe Kapampangan, when it was organized last March by grassroot leaders of Angeles City, has anchored its existence on four basic principles, which it calls its “four pillars.”
Foremost of these pillars is “parity and equitability in development,” which jibes with the advocacy of the PGKM,” it said.
“It is the position of Partido Abe that the regions and the provinces should be allotted similar, if not greater, development efforts and resources by the national government as those given to Metro Manila — one of the most congested metropolitan centers in the world.
Already, Metro Manila teems with more than 20 million people, many of whom are living in subhuman conditions,” it added.
“Decongestion of Metro Manila need not be an expensive and difficult undertaking that would require massive relocation and demolition of communities in danger zones.
All that is needed is to introduce development in the regions that would naturally result in greater opportunities for jobs and livelihood.
In areas like Pampanga, for instance, there are already existing infrastructures and facilities that only need to be utilized and improved upon to become magnets of development,’ said the PAK in supporting the advocacy of the PGKM.
