CLARK FREEPORT, Pampanga – The Clark Development Corp. (CDC) and the Clark Investors and Locators Association (CILA) are exploring various ways to sustain the operation of the firms and employment of thousands of workers in this Freeport in light of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.
CDC president and CEO Noel F. Manankil said in a statement on Friday the “CDC and CILA are leaving no stone unturned to ensure that the operations of locators and employment of workers here will remain to be on track.”
In collaboration with CILA, Manankil said the CDC could now focus on addressing the specific needs of each industry inside the Freeport.
“We have been looking at it before from a macro perspective, looking at Clark as one. But it now makes sense to look into specific industries to determine what is the best help that we can give,” he said.
Manankil also said the state-run firm and the officers and members of CILA are also taking steps to help locators and employees restart and recover in their operations.
“Our biggest priority now is to enable our locators to restart operations. So that is why we have been monitoring the number of employees reporting on a weekly basis,” he said.
At least 59 percent of the total labor force in the Freeport or 78,686 workers are now reporting to their workplaces.
Before the declaration of the Covid-19 pandemic, Clark had a total workforce of 132,969, a large portion of whom is under the industrial sector.
Of the 45,474 number of workers in this sector before the health crisis, 28,642, or 63 percent, are now reporting for work.
Manankil said this was the result of the resumption of operations by 491 firms or 39 percent of the 1,262 locator-companies here.
He likewise said that the CDC has acted on the request of locators for a possible rental reprieve, emphasizing that the state-run firm is one with its locators in surviving the challenges of the pandemic.
“We have written the DTI (Department of Trade and Industry) for authority to grant a reprieve for April, May, and June and we received a letter reply, basically saying that the CDC board can explore within its power and mandate to what extent reprieve can be granted,” Manankil said. “This was reported to the CDC Board and we have written and asked for guidance from two government agencies, which are OGCC (Office of Government Corporate Counsel) and also COA (Commission on Audit). So, we expect this to be settled in one month. But in the meantime, we will not start collecting rent for the period of April, May, and June until it is finally resolved.”
Meanwhile, CILA president Francisco Villanueva Jr. said they would continue their initiative in supporting recovering industries among the locators.
“We plan to conduct workshops per industry where we can have representatives from CDC and CILA and talk about measures to take to support those industries to avoid an unfortunate turn of events,” he said.
Villanueva also said that a bubble housing facility for Clark employees is in the pipeline as part of their measures to ensure the safety and well-being of the labor force in this Freeport. (PNA)
