Business group bares blueprint for Pampanga’s development

ANGELES CITY—The Pampanga Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. (PamCham) has proposed a Pampanga Development Plan (PDP) to the provincial government which anchors on the Capampangan business sector’s ideas on the priority development concerns of the province from 2011 to 2020.

Rene Romero, PamCham president emeritus, told members of the media during the forum dubbed “Batirulan king Café Juan” at the Holy Angel University organized by the Capampangan in Media Inc. (Cami) in cooperation with the Clark Development Corp., Social Security System and the university, that the PDP could very well be translated into a medium-term development plan for the province.

Documents furnished by PamCham showed that the final version of the PDP consists of six chapters which included an introduction and the long-term vision for the province with a physical development framework for medium-term development challenges, medium-term priority tasks and its implementation.

Under the PDP, Romero explained that the province will be divided into four quadrants based on the congressional districts. He cited as an example the Fourth District, that was labeled as “Marine Quadrant” because “we can harvest a lot of fish there.”

He said processing plants as well as cold-storage facilities should be built at the site “because if you harvest the fish and sell it to traders from the source, there is no value-added tax there. A major portion of the harvest of fishermen should be processed in the barangay because this will contribute to the employment and generation of taxes in the locality.”

Romero said the PDP could be summed up with “prosperity for the greatest number of the people of Pampanga based on the pillars of healthy and secure population who are fully and decently employed and enjoying the fruits of economic prosperity.”

He identified the five pillars as Good Governance, Environment Protection and Conservation, Infrastructure Development, Micro and Small, Medium Enterprises Development and Human Resource or Social Development.

Romero explained that the second to the fifth pillars won’t be possible or successful without the first pillar which is good governance. “And there will be no good governance without the other four pillars,” he said.

Romero also said economic development is important among the pillars because it gives access to the people. “There should be affordable and available food on the table at least three square meals a day.”

He pointed out that the right formula is access plus convergence plus progress which is equals to improve quality of life.

“If our poor citizens don’t have access, how can they improve their lives? We should be caring and generous Filipinos,” he added.

Romero also cited the importance of a “well-managed disaster risks and mitigation measures to floods and landslides; infrastructure support to complement the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway, the North Luzon Expressway, Clark International Airport and other national infrastructures and environmental sustainability which can all be achieved through efficient and effective governance.”

Romero said the bottom line is to decongest Metro Manila in favor of countryside development. He also said PamCham supports the “twin airport system” with the Ninoy Aquino International Airport and the Clark International Airport.

source:  Business Mirror