CLARK FREEPORT – “I will give it my best. Hindi po ako magnanakaw.”
This was what new Clark Development Corp. (CDC) president and chief executive officer Arthur Tugade underscored in his first press conference here, 23 days into his post in the government corporation.
This, as Tugade identified utilities, particularly electricity, and sustainability of CDC as major concerns in this freeport.
Tugade was apparently referring to the need to generate more power amid growing investments here, even as he also expressed concern over the increasing demand for water.
He also said that while the CDC is “still okay” financially, there is a need to cut on expenses while land lease revenues head up to a “plateau.”
Tugade said this should be addressed, but added he had yet no detailed plans on how to as he assumed post only 23 days earlier.
Still, he cited plans to extend tax moratorium for new investors from only one year to three years, and to reduce by 50 percent the time for the CDC to process their requirements.
“The CDC is still earning, but if we do not act, it will just be a matter of time (before the plateau between income and expenses) is reached,” he noted. He declined to give details on the CDC’s financial status.
Tugade said he had refused offers to work with government before, but accepted the CDC post amid his confidence that the Aquino administration is not corrupt. He said that in accepting his job, a ranking Malacanang official told him: “Wag magiging corrupt, just do your job.”
“I have better chance of succeeding because our President is not corrupt,” he said.
Tugade also revealed plans to provide CDC personnel at least four shuttle vehicles to transport them from outside Clark to their offices and vice versa. He reiterated his call to CDC workers to “smile, be punctual and not accept or ask for gifts.”
He said he has instructed CDC vice presidents to hold meetings outside office hours. “Vice presidents should be at the forefront during office hours, not holding meetings,” he stressed.
“Perceptions can kill,” he said, referring to the need for CDC personnel not only to be honest, but also for them to be perceived as honest.
“They should also not dine with locators and applicants,” he added.
