CLARK FREEPORT – The Angeles City government urged the renaming of this Freeport but stressed that the airport’s name honoring the late former Kapampangan President Diosdado Macapagal should be retained.
As this developed, Pampanga mayors led by Candaba Mayor Jerry Pelayo assailed Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) President and CEO Victor Jose Luciano for not opposing the CIAC board resolution approved in October 2011 renaming Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) back to “Clark International Airport (CIA)”.
In the same resolution unanimously signed by the CIAC board, the Passenger 1 Terminal of the CIA should retain the name Diosdado Macapagal Terminal (DMT).
The mayors, including Guagua Mayor Ric Rivera, told Luciano that “as a Kapampangan, we were expecting you to oppose it.” But worse, they added, “you supported it.”
Former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo had appointed Luciano at the Clark Development Corp (CDC) and later at CIAC. She is the daughter of Diosdado.
Alexander “Alex” Cauguiran, chief of staff of Mayor Edgardo “Ed” Pamintuan, said the Clark Freeport should be renamed Cory Aquino Freeport, in honor of the late president and mother of President Aquino.
A former CIAC executive vice president, Cauguiran represented Pamintuan in the meeting of 16 Pampanga Mayor’s League (PML) members with Luciano at Clark on Friday.
Citing the provisions of Republic Act 10086, Cauguiran describsed as an “insult to Kapampangan the renaming of the airport.”
He stressed guidelines of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines that prohibits the renaming of the airport if it is already named after a former President.
“All members of the CIAC board are all accountable for their action, I think for not making a thorough research before they approved the resolution renaming the airport,” Cauguiran said.
He disclosed that Clark was named after a US Military Pilot Harold Clark who had perished in action sometime in 1917 in Panama.
He also said the laws and guidelines were not studied properly by the CIAC board.
“Status quo should be maintained for now (in the name of the Clark airport as DMIA). CIAC should issue a public apology to the Capampangans,” he added.
Cauguiran said “people will come to Clark and Pampanga not because of the airport’s name but what they will see and experience.”
For his part, Luciano said he had supported the changing of the name of the DMIA for “marketing purposes and to properly sell Clark to the international market.”
He told the mayors that the provisions cited by Cauiguran “were overlooked.”
In 2001, the CDC board headed by Emmanuel Angeles approved Resolution No. 07-08 renaming CIA to DMIA “subject to required legislation.” The CIAC then was under CDC.
The CDC’s board resolution was not taken to Congress for approval since then.
The Ninoy Aquino International (NIA) was previously known as Manila International Airport MIA. It’s renaming was approved by then Congress at the time of former President Aquino.
