The Next Frontier

Written by Noel G. Tulabut

Thursday, 23 April 2009 01:15

One may view this undertaking to be an ambitious project. It may seem to be but it is realizable and doable. The attempt to develop some 10,000 hectares of vast but raw lands in the northern part of the former military reservations in Clark is now on the drawing board. Clark Development Corp. (cdc)—the government corporation with the mandate to oversee the conversion program for this particular baseland—has launched a development program. It has started to draw a blueprint that will usher in a new landscape not only for investments, but also for the Aeta tribes and their communities. The Next Frontier is both a development program and new name for the so-called Sub Zone of Clark. It is located immediately to the north of the main zone (straddling portions of Mabalacat, Pampanga and Bamban, Tarlac) or the Clark Air Base proper—the fenced-in 4,440 hectares which now host commercial, industrial, tourism and aviation firms, including the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA). The Next Frontier will develop at least 30 percent of the Sub Zone’s 29,000 hectares of raw land, characterized by hills and valleys. In response to the growing saturation of lands and buildings inside the Main Zone, this will open up new areas for business and investment projects for prospective foreign and local investors. The cost of developing The Next Frontier will require some P11.18 billion for new roads, bridges and utilities to be built in the next 15 years. With the emergence of locators in the area, CDC estimates that business projects inside The Next Frontier will generate about 47,000 jobs. The Next Frontier is being pursued in consonance with the Joint Management Agreement (JMA)—a contract signed on December 6, 2007, by CDC, the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) and leaders of Aeta tribes who have inherent rights over certain areas of the Sub Zone under the ancestral domain claims. CDC president and CEO Benigno Ricafort said while the JMA and The Next Frontier enable CDC to create investment potentials in tourism, housing, commercial, institutional and light industry projects in the Sub Zone, the undertaking also “ensures the recognition and promotion of the overall welfare of the Aeta tribes in the area.” The Next Frontier, formerly known as Clark’s Sub Zone, will be developed by Clark Development Corp. in an attempt to open more spaces for investment and business projects while building new and modern communities for Aeta tribes inside the 10,600 hectares of rolling terrain along the boundaries of Pampanga and Tarlac provinces. This is enshrined, he said, “in the provisions of JMA that stipulate revenue sharing for the Aetas from the rentals of land and buildings by prospective investors within the ancestral domain. While this arrangement creates opportunities for unprecedented economic growth for Clark and local environs, it also ensures a more stable and decent livelihood source for Aeta tribes.” For the Aetas The Aetas have 12 existing sitios inside the 10,684 hectares. The blueprint will try to maximize land use for investment projects and build a new and modest community for indigenous people. Under CDC’s plans, the sitio will be “clustered” into five “service centers” or something like new villages or barangays. Each service center will have modest housing facilities, schools from nursery to secondary levels, health/medical facilities, multipurpose center, farming area and postharvest facilities, minicommercial centers, churches, recreational parks and utilities including telephony and Internet provisions. The Aetas will receive 20 percent of the total revenues generated from CDC’s hosting of business establishments inside The Next Frontier. This is one of the provisions of JMA. Already, CDC has granted the Aetas’ request and had distributed 13 utility vehicles for the tribes, to help market the products of Aetas, bring children to schools and their sick to the hospitals in nearby Mabalacat and Bamban towns or Angeles City. The 700-linear-meter Sacobia Bridge connects The Next Frontier with Clark’s Main Zone. For business purposes CDC officials say The Next Frontier is “consistent with national agenda for indigenous peoples, as well as for investment and employment generation.” Under this program, CDC hopes to achieve optimal use of ancestral lands inside the Sub Zone as covered by JMA. Of the total land area of 10,684 hectares covered by JMA, CDC has targeted a net area of 2,010 hectares, which it calls “buildable for business and investment projects.” The current CDC management has identified six priority projects until December 2010 for The Next Frontier. These include finalizing lease contracts with Korean firm Donggwang for an ecotourism project; with the Philippine Tourism Authority for a wakeboarding resort, and the establishment of a Taiwan Ecozone. Also in the pipeline are the construction of east and spine roads, paving of a west road (which will create more accessibility to remote parts of the hilly areas), completion of plans for settlement clusters, completion of ground surveys and detailed engineering, feasibility studies for utilities. Gaining ground With plans for The Next Frontier on the drawing board, CDC has been simultaneously working on favorable endorsements from Clark’s major stakeholders: local officials, business sector, media, nongovernment organizations and the like. Its plans are supported through resolutions of the Pampanga Mayors League, the Provincial Development Council of Pampanga, Metro Clark Advisory Council (made up of 11 Pampanga and Tarlac towns and Angeles City), Pampanga Chamber of Commerce, Metro Angeles Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce in San Fernando and Angeles City, the Advocacy for the Development of Central Luzon and various media groups. The Next Frontier will also be presented to the Regional Development Council, after which it will be taken to Malacañang before the end of this month.