CLARK FREEPORT – Still reeling from the sudden loss of its chairman emeritus, the Pampanga Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (PamCham) has vowed to continue its aggressive advocacy in countryside development.
“It’s a bit difficult for the whole chamber to cope with the loss of Levy and even to the whole Pampanga business community,” admitted Jess S. Nicdao, who assumed the PamCham chairmanship after the fatal chopper crash of Levy P. Laus in Malolos City on April 25.
Nicdao, who was elected vice chairman only on February 1 after being PamCham’s president for four years, was guest of the media forum ‘Balitaan’ organized by the Capampangan in Media, Inc. in cooperation with the Clark Development Corp. at the Bale Balita here last Friday.
“I have big shoes to fill,” said Nicdao referring to his role in replacing Laus whom he said, “was always at the forefront of advocacies” no matter how small like expansion of the roads and big projects like the “Save Pampanga and Save San Fernando” movements.
Nicdao said after PamCham’s successful lobby of the widening of the NLEx from Sta. Rita, Bulacan to Sta. Ines, Mabalacat City, the chamber is now advocating for a seamless connection until the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEx) with the radio frequency identification (RFID) system.
“We thought it is very doable to do a seamless travel to all toll plazas so that all you need is one transponder or RFID to do all this and the companies will be the one to debit each other which is being done in other countries,” Nicdao said.
He said recently, the TPLEx RFID transponders have become better because even if the vehicle is moving, the toll barrier will open unlike the NLEx toll barriers which take a long time to open as the vehicle needs to make a complete stop.
He said the RFID’s can also be used in other means like parking.
Road plan
Nicdao also said PamCham will be asking all the municipalities in Pampanga to do a master plan of all their road networks.
He said a road to Pampanga from Bulacan will be constructed near the Manila Bay as there are also other roads leading to Pampanga.
Nicdao said one of these is an exit at NLEx between San Fernando and Sto. Tomas that is now undergoing construction.
He said the new exit will be located four kilometers from the San Simon exit and four kilometers from the present San Fernando exit.
The new exit will pass though Sto. Tomas town and will go straight to the towns of Guagua, Lubao and Dinalupihan in Bataan. “This is more viable because there is less right of way,” he pointed out.
“It will relieve traffic congestion in San Fernando,” Nicdao said. “For those going to Bataan, Lubao or Guagua they can now go directly to their destinations without passing through San Fernando and vice versa.”
“For us businessmen in San Fernando, this is a welcome development,” he added. “But credit should be given to the architect who planned this, Rep. Rimpy Bondoc.”
Another road passing through Barangay Del Rosario in the City of San Fernando which is also going to the west is being pushed by Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, he said.
“We are also advocating for a road between Porac and Bacolor that will relieve traffic along the MacArthur Highway from San Fernando to Angeles,” he added.
Nicdao said Pam-Cham is also advocating for the completion of the north railway. “In fact, we had several meetings in San Fernando with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Department of Public Works and Highways and Department of Transportation representatives,” he said.
Nicdao disclosed that his Jollibee store, which is still relatively new since it’s less than two years located at the junction of Lazatin Boulevard will be affected by the railway project and will eventually be closed down.
The railway project will also encroach inside St. Dominic going to the Hizon estate because it is elevated and the two rail system will be 15 meters wide, he said.
“Once you have the railway, you will have easy access to the airport,” he added. In the plan there is a big terminal in Barangay Sindalan that is why real estate prices have gone up there, Nicdao disclosed.
“One of the things that was discussed also was the Metro Bus Rail,” he said, which will start in this freeport and wind up through Angeles, Mabalacat and San Fernando cities.
The Metro Bus will have two coaches and will have its own dedicated lane, he said. “I think ultimately, it should go around Pampanga – west to Lubao and east to Candaba.”
Nicdao said Pam-Cham is also asking the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) to move its electric poles aside.
And lastly, Nicdao said, “we need to be more active in the tourism business in Pampanga.”
In this regard, he said Speaker Arroyo is pushing for aqua tourism in the coastal towns of Pampanga like Sasmuan.
“We are coping with the loss of our beloved chairman and we would like to emphasize that,” he said. “We will still try to be aggressive by being at the forefront to plan on how to move.”
