Mayoralty candidate Herman “Tong” Santos lays down plans for Dinalupihan. Photo by Ernie Esconde
DINALUPIHAN, Bataan — Expansion projects of the Freeport Area of Bataan in this town will create thousands of employment opportunities that will be of great help to residents especially after the pandemic.
Municipal councilor Herman “Tong” Santos on Friday said the new projects are located in the 60-hectare land in Barangay San Benito and 400-hectare land in Barangay Pinulot.
To rise in San Benito are big warehouses that will be offered for rent and manufacturing firms while windmills and solar panels, among some others, will be manufactured in Pinulot.
“Libo-libong trabaho ang ibibigay ng mga proyektong ito na kailangan lalo na matapos ang pandemya,” the former barangay chairman of Layac, Dinalupihan said.
FAB is allowed by a new law not only to admit investors in Mariveles but also to establish expansion areas in Balanga City and the towns of Dinalupihan, Hermosa, Orani, Samal, Abucay, Pilar, Orion, Limay, Bagac, and Morong.
Santos is one of the three mayoral candidates in Dinalupihan. The two others are Vice-Mayor Renato Matawaran, a physician, and former three-term Mayor Joel Payumo.
He is backed by outgoing Mayor Maria Angela Garcia who is eyeing the congressional post in Bataan’s newly-created third district.
Santos said employment is one of the five concerns he will focus on. The others are education, agriculture, flooding, and health.
Garcia has pushed for the application of Israeli-farm technology by Dinalupihan farmers in her desire to place the town as model Agropolis in Central Luzon. Crop yield of farmers has more than doubled with the use of the new technology.
Santos said he will continue Garcia’s program on farmers.
In the past, the town was subjected to severe flooding but with the implementation of flood-control programs by Garcia, flooding was greatly lessened. Santos said he will continue implementing programs to further address the problem on floods.