Volume II Issue IV October-December 2011 www.scadcouncil.com scadpr@gmail.com

Photo Shop

In the next five years, at least P1.6 billion worth of investments will arrive in Clark Freeport Zone. The amount represents an aggregate value for at least 22 new projects and 27 renewals, according to Felipe Antonio B. Remollo, president of the state firm Clark Development Corporation (CDC). The CDC Corporate Planning Department said that Hae Rum Development Corporation plans to put up a P1.58-billion facility on a 2.75-hectare area along M.A. Roxas Avenue intended to provide for the educational and recreational requirements of Korean tourists. Remollo, in behalf of CDC, has clinched and signed an agreement with Bonsure Everrich International for a P192-million dried meat products processing plant. The Special Precision Tools (Phils.) Clark Corporation is bringing in a P285- million investment portfolio for a chip bonding tools manufacturing center. There is also the $14-million meat manufacturing plant of Viskase Asia Pacific Corporation and a $200-million project of Donggwang Clark Corporation for the development of a 304-hectare area for tourism, recreation and leisure estate, including the construction of a new golf course.

Our immediate dividend is employment. Hae Rum Development Corporation needs at least 30 personnel in its initial operation and is expected to gradually increase manpower over time. Everrich International will immediately employ 40 personnel, and Viskase Asia Pacific Corporation is expected to employ 50 to 100 workers once fully operational.

Normally, we look at financial figures in terms of their calculated profit. Businessmen always compute the return of investment for every one centavo exposure. In fact, the amount of capital outlay appropriated is not always based on the size of the business venture but on the expected gains.

In Clark Freeport Zone, the continued influx of investment and capitals cannot just be driven by the gains of the capital-profit formula. For the CDC, it means investor trust and confidence. Obviously, locators invest because they trust the CDC in overseeing the affairs of the Freeport.

The figures are not mere numbers. They also mirror the attraction of Clark as an investment-friendly growth area where policies are just, regulations are acceptable, government intervenes less, competition is fair, security is assured, and workers are dependable. The effort of CDC in implementing changes in Clark is being bolstered by the Subic-Clark Alliance for Development. With investments steadily coming in, a more cohesive and cooperative alliance between the CDC and SCAD is needed. The partnership must regularly review the policies and regulations in the context of their relevance to the changing business climate inside the Freeport Zone as locators grow. In doing so, we can expect business in Clark to continuously expand.

Investment is trust

04 REPORTTO FILL THE BIG SHOE

06 COVER STORYPAROL MAKERS OF PAMPANGA:THE HANDS THAT SHINE

10 FEATUREA STAR IS BORN IN BATAAN

13 FEATURETHE COFFEE CHRIST IN THECHAPEL

14 FACE TO FACEIMMIGRATION, CUSTOMS, AND QUARANTINE PROJECT

16 FEATUREON HALLOWED GROUNDS

18 FEATUREUP-CLARK: SUSTAINING THESCHOLARS OF THE PEOPLE

20 PROFILEAMAZING ACE

EDITOR-IN-CHIEFReynato S. CustodioEXECUTIVE WRITERRommel M. De JesusCONTRIBUTORSAileen ManitiCherry Anne MungcalLAYOUT ARTIST & PHOTOGRAPHERPaula Lei G. TayaoDRIVEREduardo F. Galang

The Subic-Clark ALLIANCE is the official quarterly publication of the Subic-Clark Alliance for Development (SCAD)

Editorial Address: Bldg 2127, CDC Headquarters, E. Quirino cor. C. Garcia Sts., Clark Freeport Zone, PhilippinesTel/Fax No: (045) 599 7418Email Address: scadpr@gmail.comWebsite: www.scadcouncil.com

E D I TO R I A L

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The macro labor situation is that in the Philippines, there are less jobs available for workers. However,

in CFZ, the trend is different. A cursory glance at Clark Development Corporation’s (CDC) website and bulletin board will show a long list of jobs up for grabs. There are 3,361 vacancies in the CFZ as of July this year. And as the gov’t agency overseeing the affairs inside the CFZ, the CDC has admitted that it’s a big challenge to fill up these positions.

Browsing through the piles of curriculum vitae submitted to the corporation’s employment unit as well as human resource offices of business companies will show that unqualified applicants outnumber the

qualified ones. It’s because the skills of the applicants are not matched with the skills needed. In economic parlance, it’s a labor mismatch.

Labor mismatch happens when the competencies of those who leave the school either as graduates or undergraduates do not fit the requirements of the employment sector or vice-versa. Either the universities, colleges and vocational schools are offering programs and disciplines that are not matched with the needs of employers, or the students themselves are taking up courses that are not in high demand with existing businesses and industries.

Waking up before the nightmareThe labor mismatch in CFZ is not yet

seriously alarming. But before it becomes a locator’s nightmare, SCAD has taken

initial steps to prevent this from happening. Last July 21, SCAD gathered in Oasis Hotel in Angeles City, Pampanga stakeholders in the labor sector and the academic sector – the job providers or the locators and manpower resource providers like schools and universities – and CDC officials.

The consultation meeting was called on the premise that a strong social dialogue, effective coordination among concerned sectors, and improved communications between employers and training providers will help bridge the gap between labor supply and demand.

“There is an urgency to discuss the labor mismatch now. We have to talk and identify what really is the need of the locators in terms of skills so that the academe may undertake the necessary adjustments. We have to align the curricula, and the courses

As investments keep coming into Clark Freeport Zone (CFZ), the need is strong for managers, engineers, systems analysts, computer programmers, technicians, machine operators, call center agents, accountants, plant supervisors, foremen, and even factory workers. And Subic-Clark Alliance for Development (SCAD) is making moves to snap the labor mismatch trend.

To fill the big shoe

Cherry Anne MungcalContributor

Officials and representatives of schools, colleges and universities, Clark Development Corporation, and locators in Clark Freeport Zone view a presentation during the consultative meeting called by the Subic-Clark Alliance for Development on July 21, 2011 at Oasis Hotel, Angeles City, Pampanga to collectively address the labor mismatch in CFZ.

Report

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that need to be offered ,” Erlinda Pamintuan, chief of staff of SCAD, said.

The educational institutions that attended the meeting were Holy Angel University, Angeles University Foundation, Republic Central Colleges, Jocson College, University of the Philippines-Clark, and the state-run Technology Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).

The roundtable talks resulted in an agreement in principle to formulate a mechanism that will address at this early the labor mismatch in CFZ. The educational institutions indicated their willingness to conduct a review of their academic programs and disciplines. The locators and CDC committed to provide labor trends inside CFZ, as well as other data necessary in the review. TESDA and the locators will be coordinating closely to identify and provide technical skills training.

On top of these undertakings is the SCAD

which will communicate the progress of the activities to the group. SCAD will continue holding consultations and consolidate inputs and recommendations.

Pamintuan said the final output of all the activities and workshops shall be an omnibus proposed project or mechanism that will resolve the labor mismatch in CFZ.

Labor mismatch at the national levelThe Asian Development Bank (ADB) has

reported that schools in the Philippines produce the wrong kind of skills for the labor needs of the country, thereby hurting its economic growth.

In its 2008 study, it stated that labor mismatch affects the Filipino labor productivity, which only saw an average increase of less than 7% from 1988 to 2000. Neighboring Asian countries like Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia and Thailand had as much as 30-50% increase over the same period.

Initiatives to combat job mismatch are included in the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) goals for 2011-2016.

But as early as 1994, then President Fidel V. Ramos signed Republic Act 7686 which institutionalized the Dual Training System (DTS) in some accredited public and private educational institutions, training centers and agricultural, industrial and business establishments.

The concept of DTS encompasses both the company and the educational institution where the job aspirant is enrolled – 40% of his/her student life would be spent in school

learning theoretical subjects, basic skills, values and general education while the remaining 60% would be in the company he/she intends to enter to acquire skills proficiency and actual work experience.

Accredited courses under DTS are Information Technology, Tourism, Electronics, Automotive/Land Transport, Metallurgical Engineering, Agri-Fishery and Garments. DTS is deemed by the TESDA as their best solution, so far, to job mismatch.

Out of all of the recommendations from international and local institutions, investing in education and skills to help economies achieve optimum growth is a pressing priority throughout the globe, with or without the presence of an economic crisis. In a country like the Philippines where there is already high importance for education, investing on it is no longer new to its people; it is just a matter of aligning and programming the educational system better to meet the needs of the market.

International problem

In an article of TIME MAGAZINE in 1986, the maddening job mismatch in the United States was identified to have started when companies needed new skills that their current employees didn’t possess – notably computer and word-processing abilities. It was during those times that many companies shifted from manufacturing to services, specifically from labor-intensive to clerical, financial and data processing skills.

As early as 1970’s, nations across

Officials and representatives of schools, colleges and universities, Clark Development Corporation, and locators in Clark Freeport Zone view a presentation during the consultative meeting called by the Subic-Clark Alliance for Development on July 21, 2011 at Oasis Hotel, Angeles City, Pampanga to collectively address the labor mismatch in CFZ.

One integral element in the job matching and in any job matching discussion is the academe. They would be the supplier to our manpower and talent.

the world had already been blaming job mismatch as a cause of economic breakdown and business downturn. The World Bank stated in 1998 that skill mismatch in labor markets can manifest as unemployment/underemployment of the educated sector, shortage of skilled labor resulting from inadequate education, and migration.

Also, International Labor Organization (ILO) stated in its study in 2010 that steps must be taken to reduce the mismatch between available and required labor skills; primarily, a review of the education system is in order. There is also the need to balance flexible working arrangements with workers’ security through various mechanisms including insurance and social protection policies.

With the forseen tremendous impact of job mismatch in the Freeport, SCAD believes that concrete efforts such as a comprehensive study of the situation is necessary, and its results must be shared and assessed by the CDC, locators, educational institutions, TESDA and the Commission on Higher Education and other stakeholders in order to come up with the proper solution.

According to TESDA, which is the mandated administrator of the system, DTS is a training delivery system where values and attitudes, vis-à-vis a company’s corporate value are developed side by side with skills and knowledge development.

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It’s the night of the shining Festival. A huge crowd has formed in the wide competition area, and more are arriving in groups.

Like the Magi of the first Christmas, many having come from afar, invited not by the glowing light of a tiny star in an unreachable sky, but by giant disks that now sit in the darkness, their variegated patterns barely visible on the horizon. In a few hours, they will become stars come down on earth, rivalling their heavenly counterparts in magnificence.

For several decades now, the “Giant Lantern Festival” has been the piece de resistance of a long yuletide holiday season in the City of San Fernando. Rooted in the practice of accompanying religious images with lanterns as they made their way to the Christmas Eve mass, the lantern contest has grown in proportion to the progress of the city, and today it can boast of being truly a world-class spectacle.

The mere sight of a giant San Fernando lantern is quite formidable for one used to the size of ordinary lanterns hung at home. Lighted and dancing to background music, it becomes a delightfully gargantuan kaleidoscope that brings every beholder to that certain age of wonder and innocence when everything was new. But there is more to it than kinetic colors flying in gargantuan proportions. Every parol is a work of art and a product of technical know-how, showcasing ingenuity and creativity with the most basic of materials.

A star evolvesA giant lantern always begins in the mind of a master maker who is both a visual artist and an accomplished electrician. A former apprentice of previous masters, he has gathered a formidable experience culled from tradition and craftsmanship often handed down from father to son,

Cover Story

Boisterous, larger than life, extravagant, creative: these Kapampangan traits also describe the giant lanterns of San Fernando, the capital city of Pampanga, known as the “Christmas Capital of the Philippines” in the tourist map.

and most certainly will be passed on to the more creative of his assistants and helpers. Almost a year before the competition, he is already laying out a strategy of visual delight, motivated by the ultimate prize: a full year of bragging rights over other barangays or villages.

He then proceeds to commit his design to paper, with a time table and a work plan that covers months of intense preparation and construction. The design extrapolates a pentagonal pattern taken from the small traditional bamboo parols.

His designs are then scaled to the desired dimension and the patterns traced with chalk or pencil on a spacious floor. Steel bars are cut and bent to follow each section of the layout, and are welded together. Two identical frames are constructed, which are then joined together with enough space in between for the bulbs and wiring.

The giant frame is then held upright,

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and individual cardboard compartments are assembled to isolate the bulbs within each steel section. Each compartment is also lined with reflective aluminum foil to intensify illumination.

While the frame sections are being compartmentalized, bulbs from previous competitions are cleaned and tested, with busted ones replaced. On the average, more than 3,000 bulbs are used for every giant lantern.

An electrifying eventThe head electrician takes over after the

compartments are lined with foil. Usually, four bulbs of different colors are installed in each compartment. This will allow more permutations of movement for the same pattern. This arduous stage is a test for the electrician to apply a complex combination of parallel and series circuitry while faithfully following the vision of the designer.

The thick array of wires that jut out from the back of the parol are carefully sorted and connected to a deceptively simple switching system, the rotors. Large sheet metal cylinders of different sizes are horizontally mounted on frame housings, their axles connected to a steering wheel. Over each is an insulated bar where scores of copper wires are laid out in contact with the cylinder surface, which is plastered with masking tape in periodic intervals. Each copper wire is connected to a particular bulb. The cylinder is connected to one terminal of the power source, while the bulbs and their respective copper wires are connected to the other terminal. When the steering wheel is turned, the wires glide over the metal cylinder surface. The masking tape of the rotating cylinder makes or breaks a circuit, lighting the bulbs in a desired order.

While the electricians work on kilometers

of electric wires behind the parol, workers busy themselves with gluing paper cut-outs over in front. For each compartment, transparent layers of the same color are placed for the distinct shading effect that is unique to the Fernandino lantern.

The “play” of the bulbs is then tested, and corresponding adjustments and corrections are made. When the master lantern maker is satisfied that his creation can best other parols, its front and back surfaces are swathed and a clear plastic sheet is laid over the entire lantern to protect it from the elements.

Lighting up the nightFinally, the long-awaited night arrives.

The stars of the show are all “dressed up.” The giant lantern entries are now neatly lined up in the competition area, sturdily mounted in front of large trucks. The rotors are safely arranged on the truck bed, an

From floor to rotor: The giant parol slowly takes shape as skillful craftsmen contribute their artistry in every step. Photos by Raphael Kalaw

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San Fernando’s Giant Lantern Festival 2010 winners (from left to right) Champion, Brgy. Sta. Lucia; 1st Runner-up, Brgy. Dolores; 2nd Runner-up, Brgy. San Nicolas Photos from http://www.ivanhenares.com

operator behind each steering wheel. The apparatus is already connected to the main power line. Months of gruelling work are now condensed in this one decisive moment. Thousands are in attendance. A contestant is called, and the signal is given.

As the first note of music fills the air, the giant lantern comes to life, exploding, imploding, shimmering, dancing. Colors mysteriously change and shapes undulate into complicated arabesques. The people watch in awe, taking note of the rhythm and the variety of colors, and making critical remarks. Applause greets the end of a turn. One giant lantern is followed by another, and still another. Favorites are noted. After two rounds of fantastic individul and

group display, the people gird themselves for the ultimate showdown: all competing giant lanterns perform simultaneously to an upbeat tune, trying to outperform each other. The spectators cannot concentrate on just one or two entries, but must scan the whole length of the field, because every lantern is doing its best to impress.

Minutes pass, and the judges are hard at work. The intentional delay heightens the excitement among the barangay officials, master makers, electricians, rotor drivers and assistants, while the audience is equally animated. The winner is announced, and wild cheering erupts. The bragging rights are secure for a year, and everyone is already talking,with more excitement, of the contest next Christmas season.

GIANT LANTERN FESTIVAL 2011 SCHEDULE

December 17, 2011, 6pm, Robinsons Starmills Pampanga - Giant Lantern Festival Competition

December 18 - 21, 6pm, Robinsons Starmills Pampanga - Giant Lantern Festival Exhibition and Choral Concert

December 22, 6pm, Essel Park Telabastagan, Giant Lantern Exhibition

December 23, 6pm, Greenfields Subdivision Sindalan, Giant Lantern Exhibition

December 24, 11pm, San Fernando City Hall, Giant Lantern Exhibition

For more information, call the San Fernando City Tourism

Office at (045)961-5684

or visit www.cityofsanfernando.gov.ph

Lantern makers are busy wiring and pasting colorful covers to a giant parol.photos by Raphael Kalaw

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Feature

Propelled by the natural beauty of our country, the richness of our culture and the friendly disposition of our

people, tourism is currently considered as an emergent industry that can be one of the keys to our sustained progress. We can justifiably boast of our land and water ecosystems as among the most diverse in the world, attracting foreigners with their unique endemic organisms. However, there have been so many instances where the intrusion of human activity into pristine wildlife has disturbed a tenuous balance of life, leading to distressing consequences that may take generations to repair, at best. The challenge of sustainable tourism has become a point of contention among different stakeholders, highlighting the need for successful benchmarks and examples.

Richly blessed but blightedWhile its place in Philippine history has

been firmly secured by its brave heroes of many wars, Bataan is now the battlefront of a different kind of conflict. As one of the most underrated provinces in the Philippines, many are yet to discover that it has always been a natural haven where land, air and water seem to converge, bringing with them an abundance of treasures. Save for the town of Dinalupihan, its local political boundaries extend to the coastal areas of Manila Bay, providing each with access to rich marine resources. Running across the spine of the peninsula lies the Bataan mountain range, its slopes, gulleys, forests and waterways extending to every

A star is born in Bataan

municipality and city. From the uplands, the rivers level out to the plains that become the confluence of all the soil nutrients, which are then transformed by human labor into pasture and agricultural lands. All the necessary resources for a sustainable human existence are present, including an abundant water supply that can satisfy industrial, agricultural and domestic needs. The rich soil practically forbids anybody to be dirt poor.

Unfortunately, much of its extensive forest resources had been exploited in the last six decades by both slash-and-burn farmers, and more alarmingly by organized big-time loggers whose notorious process of denudation has led to an ignoble branding. “Bataan type logging” is characterized by an invasion of bulldozers creating roads deep into the jungle. Trucks subsequently follow, along with horses conscripted to reach the narrow and tight areas. Recent satellite photos show through thermal imagery how the forest cover of the mountain range has retreated. Aggravating this tenuous situation are waves of Informal settlers and professional squatters who have been observed to continually occupy protected land, destroying ecosystems in their wake.

Champions and inspirationsA native of Bataan, SCAD Chairman

Felicito Payumo has been a sad witness to this degradation. As an elected congressman and later as SBMA Chairman, Payumo has been blessed with many opportunities to visit far-flung places of

his province. Even as he interacted with constituents, he could not help but notice how human activity has leached into the environment, bringing with it all manners of waste and destruction. A firm believer in the dictum of stewardship, he has advocated for the protection, preservation and promotion of the fabled Bataan natural environment, in harmony with the progress and development of the province.

Payumo’s track record as an environmentalist is quite extensive, The Build-Operate-Transfer Law he authored has resulted in the establishment of more environment-friendly mini hydro and geothermal plants. He insisted on a wide-ranging environment protection plan into the development program of the Subic Freeport, noting that a large part of its forest cover is located in Morong, Bataan. He recognized the right of Aytas inside the Freeport for their ancestral domain, and he introduced a program that would allow farmers to protect and sustain the forest while earning a living from its resources. In an article he wrote, “In Search of Leaders,” he counts among those he admires, “environmentalists Gina Lopez who took on the daunting challenge of saving the Pasig River, and Tony Oposa, a lawyer who succeeded in leveraging the Law to rehabilitate Manila Bay.” He may not realize it, but other people, too, look up to him for his ardent advocacy for Mother Nature.

One such person is Architect Nestor David, chief designer of Sinagtala Farm

Breathtaking. From its cozy huts to its infinity pool, Sinagtala offers the weary suburbanite to a welcome respite in the midst of a serene and cool forest environment.

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A star is born in Bataan

and Retreat Resort in Tala, Orani, Bataan, who unabashedly declares that Payumo’s passion has rubbed off him. David is an environmental planner who believes that human persons are an intrinsic filament in the web of nature, and thus are playing a role that is equally important as any organism in the biosphere. “Instead of thinking of ourselves as superior beings, we should know that our own existence is dependent on God and the nature that he has provided,” he asserts. His designs reflect his philosophy of “positive human intervention,” most notably with his renowned work at the Lagen Island Resort in El Nido. He observed that the natural siltation from the mountains was carried by waterways into the lagoon, choking the corals and driving away other marine life. As a form of engineering intervention, he built interceptor canals upstream, lining them with dead corals and stones that effectively served as filters, resulting in cleaner and clearer water flowing into the bay. By constructing a breakwater out of bundled precast concrete pipes, he was able to simulate underwater crevasses and caves where marine life flourished. Thus, resort visitors do not have be strong swimmers or divers and go out into the open sea to observe the colourful fish and corals.

This stewardship of nature and its elements is the same approach that David is pursuing at Sinagtala. Previously logged over and thereafter left to the elements, the locale was run over by secondary vegetation. Where shrub roots could not

hold on to the thin soil, erosion reshaped cliffs and overhangs. To initiate development in the 50 hectare site, workers had to slash through thick undergrowth, removing creepers and vines that stifled the growth of trees and competed for the thin nutrients of the topsoil. Literally, the place unravelled itself when ten thousand fully grown coffee trees were discovered, along with hundreds of citruses, like calamandarins and calamansi. A stunning view of the plains of Bataan and Pampanga revealed itself, with Mount Arayat majestically lording it over the horizon. The fringes of Subic Bay could be glimpsed, its waters reflecting sunlight. The resort master plan was amended, and development was confined from 22 hectares to 10.6 hectares, bowing to the value of thousands of fruit trees found.

Following the starA journey to Sinagtala is a pleasure

in itself, especially if one has to take the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway in going there. The comfortable trip over a world-class roadway is a refreshing experience that will inspire even the most jaded, with view after view of bucolic life set before a panorama of mountains splashed in different hues of green. Living postcards of quaint huts stand in the midst of fields and orchards as hardworking farmers and hardy carabaos work the paddies. It is enough to bring proud tears in a traveller’s eyes, confirming that indeed, the beauty of our country knows no parallel. It is as if one is being prepared for the pleasures that lie

ahead. From the Dinalupihan exit, it is a short ride through the Roman Expressway. Some five kilometres from the junction, an almost unobtrusive intersection looms. To the left will lead one to the town proper of Orani; to the right, Barangay Tala, and on to the resort.

If the expressway were a long panning shot of mountains, orchards and fields, Barangay Tala is a steady close up. The road is for the most part surprisingly well paved, and only a slight hum in a downshifted engine will betray that fact that the car is already travelling up the spine of a mountain. One born and bred in the city is overwhelmed by foliage, and at this point, it is recommended to roll down the windows. The air is so fresh and cool that it does not have to pass through the filters of the air conditioner. Every now and then, one will see villagers on their way to the town market leading ponies with baskets on both flanks laden with kalakal or farm merchandise. Their friendly manners are evidenced by the smiles that accompany their replies when asked for directions. Riders in their mountain bikes swoosh by, enervated by the challenge of the gently sloping ground. Eight kilometres into the barangay, a right turn will lead to the resort. Located five hundred meters above sea level, its bracing climate rivals that of Tagaytay.

Sinagtala is being built according to five development concepts: as an organic farm of seasonal vegetables, citrus and coffee, a resort spa that leans on the restorative attributes of the environment, a retreat

Breathtaking. From its cozy huts to its infinity pool, Sinagtala offers the weary suburbanite to a welcome respite in the midst of a serene and cool forest environment.

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center that will be conducive to reflection and spiritual renewal, a vibrant laboratory for positive human intervention in nature, and on a separate ridge, an activity area where jungle adventure, team-building and more vigorous pursuits can be enjoyed. Construction is still ongoing, but to date there are already overnight facilities for small groups of visitors. Huts surround an infinity pool that looks over a ravine. The property is fringed by the Tama River and Alepa Creek, with Orani River just across the road. The water source of the resort comes by gravity from mountains 3 kms away, spring water that does not need to be bottled. Ten minutes down the trails, crystal clear streams can be reached, where picnics can be enjoyed. The hike is a photographer’s dream, and it is recommended to bring both telephoto lenses for capturing the lizards, butterflies and birds up the tall trees, and macro lenses for the insects, flowers and fungi on the forest floor. Who knows, a visitor might be lucky enough to encounter civets, collect their droppings, and gather enough to brew an interesting cup of java. Labuyo, native forest chickens, roam the jungle as well. To preserve the serene atmosphere, radios and televisions are not allowed in the resort. Hunting is definitely forbidden.

Ecological laboratoryThese caveats follow the desire of

Sinagtala owners to utilize the resort as a living classroom for visitors, and a paradigm of success for the ecology cynics. They are quite aware of the magnitude of the problems presented by environmental degradation and the educational, logistical and persuasive capitals needed to resolve them.

The approach that Sinagtala wants to conduct in recruiting the involvement of the local governments of Bataan and even that of the local Church is through the experiential method. Correctly, this approach rests on the notion that the love for the environment cannot be taught abruptly, like in a classroom. It requires prolonged immersion, where excitement and stimulation is elicited out of leisure. Learning ensues, followed by an intense commitment. Tourists, on the other hand, are expected to have an experience that will lead them to a deeper valuing of the environment and their role in sustaining it.

Fortuitously, a lightning strike in Sinagtala hit a tall tree to an extent that even its root system was damaged. With the destruction of a single tree, the gully suffered considerable erosion. The event succinctly demonstrates that nature cannot just left alone because there are normal forces that can damage the environment. It will take years for the gully to heal itself, but an immediate positive human intervention through sustained reforestation will accelerate restoration.

There have been local officials and civil servants who have visited Sinagtala, and it is hoped that the harmonized initiative will come after support and cooperation is elicited through example. “We want to develop a track record first, to demonstrate that it can work,” David states. For example, to show that recycling can result in human comfort, tourists and visitors will be able to view the recycling of organic materials into lighter and cooler building materials

resulting in less architectural demands. David even looks at farmers to produce low density boards from harvest waste, using ordinary equipment. Not only will there be economic gains, he notes, but more durable and cooler rural homes from these products will even foster family bonding.

Similar to what was done in El Nido, David wants to do a botanical registry of all plant life in and round Sinagtala. He would like to discover their wildlife, ecological, and medicinal values of trees and plants, and he believes that there is a tourism potential in this learning process. He frowns on the propagation of foreign plant species in the reforestation programs all over the country, preferring instead the hardier endemic trees like the dita, anae and the anibong. Dita, which is prevalent in Sinagtala, is now being propagated by Ayala Land, and has been a part of their environmental setting of Serendra in fort Bonifacio and also of the UP-Ayala Techno Hub. The plant is not deciduous, so it does not excessively shed leaves during the cold season. It does not harbour offensive insects. Its nice erect structure is pleasing to the eyes. It has no aggressive roots that lift pavements.

Ironically, the aforementioned coffee trees are not native to the place; they were brought along generations ago by settlers from Mataas na Kahoy, Batangas. Yet, coffee experts have pronounced the coffee beans from Tala as the best in the Philippines. The hint of their forebears is not only evident in the strong coffeia liberica of the villagers, but even their suman and lomi are still cooked Batangas-style. This charming characteristic of the Tala community is another reason for a visit.

Community harmony Sinagtala follows a paradigm that

is entirely different from a resort hotel orientation that offers mechanical hospitality, choosing instead a community-based tourism concept that presents the congenial warmth of a people in an authentic rural Filipino setting. Instead of limiting tourism growth within its walls, Sinagtala offers itself as a positive socio-economic intervention that will alleviate poverty in the vicinity by serving as anchor point for tourists.

Architect Nestor David shows off Sinagtala souvenir items made from hand-painted coffee tree branches.

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THE COFFEE CHRIST IN THE CHAPEL

As an environmental planner, Architect Nestor David believes that everything has value.

The coffee trees that were discovered in the area periodically need to be pruned for their rejuvenation. In a stroke of inspiration, he looked at the cuttings of roots, twigs and

branches and saw in his mind’s eye the corpus of a crucified Christ. After laying down his vision on paper, he hired a craftsman from his native town of Betis, Guagua, Pampanga, itself known for woodcarvers and furniture makers, to execute it. The resulting bigger than life-size sculpture is a stunning work of art, with tree parts carefully chosen to faithfully render body parts like the knees, hair and extremities. Moreover, the color and texture of the coffee wood seem to replicate lifeless flesh.

The crucifix will be the central point of the Sinagtala chapel, but it is not its only showcase of Filipino craftsmanship. Up on its surrounding walls serving as clerestory windows are glass etchings of the revised Stations of the Cross, depictions of fourteen stages of the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. As part of the tourism preparations of the resort, David conducted a skills inventory of the community and the surrounding municipalities. He discovered an expert glass etching artist in Orani, and immediately he was commissioned to do the job. The chapel itself and the other structures being built inside the resort are being built by local skilled labor.

The lives and homes of Tala residents, most of whom are tillers and herders, can serve by themselves as tourist magnets, affording the visitor with an insight into rural Philippines. Urbanites can learn how to plant rice, harvest coconuts, milk carabaos and plow the fields. In between planting and harvest, locals can serve as guides into the mountain trails, while families can provide reasonably priced bread and breakfast.

This concept is neither a reinvention of the wheel, nor a denigration of rural life into a mere spectacle, for it has been observed that many a tourist would prefer to get into the real world of their host country, far from the usual air-conditioned comforts of their hotel rooms. More importantly, it offers an opportunity for a deeper understanding of cultural differences, and ultimately, the sharing of experiences would be the best way to highlight the dignity of farmers. Since tourism is basically a theatre where narratives are in search of storytellers, this same spirit can be the setting for a meaningful meeting between the traveller as visitor and the community as host. Sinagtala aims to gather the immediate

community so it can be the first to buy into the concept of tourism in harmony with a sustainable environment. Its planners are projecting two more years before the resort will be fully ready an influx of tourists. Until then, it has the opportunity of preparing its vicinity and the community that surrounds it. It is not a luxurious time frame, but with committed people on the job, Bataan will soon have a benchmark for the development of all its other potential tourist attractions.

SCAD as catalystIn essence, the harmony of resort

and community, of natural environment and human activity, of profit and social responsibility is a challenge to manage our natural and human resources. SCAD can take the lead in formulating a master plan that will promote the judicious care for the environment as tourism, investments, agriculture and logistics stimulate the economy of the Corridor.

SCAD welcomes the slow but sure approach of Sinagtala, following the lines of a finely crafted plan that puts premium to the environment. It is a fact that the

emergence of such tourism destinations will increase the traffic volume of SCTEx, and for all intents and purposes, this will be a welcome development, together with the establishment of townships, manufacturing plants, service facilities and utilities. But if not properly planned and coordinated, and without political will, future developments can turn the green corridor into a malevolent hue, and the proud tears that we shed today as we pass by its magnificent view may turn into inutile weeping.

The potential of an agency such as SCAD cannot be underestimated in this regard. Its overarching directive may primarily be in areas of policy, but as an arm of the Office of the President in the Corridor, it has already built a network of alliances not only between the Subic and Clark Freeports, but also of local government units, agencies, and non-government organizations, facilitating the coordination and cooperation of various Corridor stakeholders. With its presence, new ventures will find a significant collaborator, even as it upholds environmental integrity as a fundamental concern.

Sinagtala chapel

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Alliance: Can you tell us about the Harmonization of the Subic-Clark Immigration, Customs and Quarantine (ICQ) Policies Project. What is your objective?Atty. Joy Alvarado: The objective of the harmonization was to fuse together the progress enjoyed by both Subic and Clark and the corridor that lay between them. The budding development of the two Freeports was reaching proportions that could no longer be ignored. It was apparent that harnessing this growth would lead to the advancement of trade and industry in the country. This required co-existence and cohesiveness, in other words, to act as one synchronized body which would improve methods and procedures to expand investment doors in the Subic-Clark Corridor.

A: How has this project impacted on the locators and investors of Subic and Clark?AJA: This project now serves as a harmonized express link, for the investor, offering the most suitable route for the fast delivery of goods and services by land in Central Luzon. The shipper has the advantage of access in the competitive cargo handling arena, the network based industry in both facilities which work in synergy, and he deals with the timely movement of people and commodities from one place to another.

A: As a member of the TWG (Technical Working Group) of the ICQ Project, how do you achieve your objective? How would you rate yourselves?AJA: Today, it is the policy of the SBMA and the CDC to have harmonized rules, regulations and procedures for immigration, customs and quarantine. We can say that this has facilitated investments and ensured a coordinated approach in the development of the Subic-Clark economic corridor as a competitive world-class logistics center in the Asia Pacific Region.

A: What is/are your most notable challenge/s in the implementation of the ICQ project?AJA: As in any project, the growing pains could not be avoided. The concept, particularly on the exportation of goods, involved the transition to the automation of the export system, which entailed dealing with delicate nitty gritty, not the least of which concerned critical aspects such as the treatment on the Tariff Rate, Surety Bond, Underguarding and the like. The harmonized immigration concept dealt not only with similar such challenges but, in the case of the SBMA, involved the bodily movement of immigration personnel into the Freeport to create an independent immigration satellite office in SBMA to service its locators/investors for their convenience. The learning process was worthy of note and its implementation measured. However, the cooperation and support of the providers, the government agencies involved, the locators, and SBMA and CDC officials confirmed the worthiness of the endeavor.

A: What were the major issues that the TWG had to contend with? How did you resolve these?AJA: One issue was the limited time that the team had in gathering together stakeholders and resource persons to capture the realities that come with the system. However the passion and sincerity exhibited by team did shine and contaminated everyone.

A: What contributed to the success of the project?AJA: It was the interest and the desire to ease the process for a shorter, smoother flow of the transaction that energized those concerned. Ultimately the harmonized ‘express’ procedures redound to the progress of both the locator/investor and the government.

A: What other areas of the ICQ is your team working on now?AJA: The team is continuously looking at the current system and procedures for enhancement with the aim of making things easy for investors and clients.

A: How do you see Subic and Clark 5 years from now, particularly regarding ICQ procedures?AJA: The on-going synergy is the promise of a development hub to showcase the outstanding full service of the SBMA Freeport and first-rate civilian aviation complex of the CDC. The prospect for sustainable progress in both Freeports, acting as one, is immense.

A: As the head of Regulatory Department of SBMA, how significant is your role and your department in further developing Subic as an investment center?AJA: The Regulatory Group spearheaded the development and set strict deadlines along the different stages of the project all the way until the actual implementation of the procedures. All possible support was extended for speedy realization of the project and lines remained open for any suggestions or comments from the providers and the locators.

A: As the head of the Regulatory Department of SBMA, what other policy changes you shall soon be implementing (long term and short term)? What shall be the impact of these policy changes to the locators?AJA: Streamlining of present policies are seen as a measure to further cut red tape and facilitate procedures and enhance growth in the corridor.

Atty. Joy AlvaradoSenior Deputy AdministratorSBMA Regulatory Group

Immigration, Customs and Quarantine Project

Face To Face

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Alliance: Can you tell us about the Harmonization of the Subic-Clark Immigration, Customs and Quarantine (ICQ) Policies Project. What is your objective?Engr. Mariz Mandocdoc: The ICQ Project is a joint project of SCADC, CDC, and SBMA to update the policies and improve the processes pertaining to the Immigration, Customs, and Quarantine regulations to make them more responsive to the requirements of locators and to make Clark and Subic at par with global best practice standards. We want to make Clark and Subic a virtual seamless investment and logistics center where the resources of both - Clark’s airport and Subic’s port - are effectively utilized to produce maximum results.

A: How has this project impacted on the locators and investors of Subic and Clark?EMM: Business and regulatory policies and procedures in Clark and Subic are now generally harmonized. The ICQ project reduced the processing time of procedures from days to just about a few minutes. With automation, we are now able to build data bases that allow us to issue permits more quickly. Now, locators can apply for permits even in the comforts of their offices and homes, 24/7.

A: As a member of the TWG (Technical Working Group) of the ICQ Project, how did you achieve your objective? How would you rate yourselves?EMM: I think we achieved our objectives. I say we have done quite a job. But there is much more left to do.

A: What is/are your most notable challenge/s in the implementation of the ICQ project?EMM: First is understanding how the system works. Then, soliciting the cooperation of gov’t agencies. Normally, the head of the agency is very supportive. The tricky part is how to bring the entire organization to implement what has been agreed upon, that means middle managers down.

A: What were the major issues that the TWG had to contend with? How did you resolve these?EMM: Some government personnel do not embrace, and would even oppose, the changes we were introducing even if approved by the head of the agency. To address this, we documented delays and met the people where bottlenecks are noted. When people realize they are accountable, they will cooperate. Sometimes, existing legislations restrict our flexibilities. We honor them, but we participate in the deliberation of pertinent bills.

A: What contributed to the success of the project?EMM: It is teamwork. But I think the single most important factor was the role that SCADC played in creating one voice for the three of us (Subic, Clark, SCADC). Under SCADC’s leadership, experts were hired to help us navigate the maze, Subic and Clark’s efforts were synergized, and Technical staffs were there to document letters and drafts and to keep track of follow through actions.

A: What other areas of ICQ is your team working on now?EMM: The BOC (Bureau of Customs) Customs Memorandum Order (CMO) for the electronic export system for Clark and Subic. We are also fine-tuning certain segments of the automated admission process. BOC has a project to adopt use of GPS (Global Positioning System) for cargo vans and we are lobbying to have the system at a reasonable cost to our locators. We are also working on the use of technology to properly monitor Tax Exempt Vehicles (TEVs). We will also have to upgrade the ICQ Manual to reflect the automation part and the more recent issuances brought about by our collaborative efforts with various government agencies.

A: How do you see Subic and Clark 5 years from now, particularly regarding ICQ procedures?EMM: With the SCTEx, I see Subic and Clark as one seamless investment and services center. We envision Subic and Clark to be the ideal place for leisure and business.

A: As the head of regulatory department of CDC, how significant is your role and your department in further developing Clark as an investment center?EMM: Our role is to ensure compliance with national laws and regulations in a very supportive manner to our locators. Also, we provide Management some recommendations on how to better our service to our locators.

A: As the head of the regulatory department of CDC, what other policy changes you shall soon be implementing (long term and short term)? What shall be the impact of these policy changes to the locators?EMM: We will automate process to make things easier for our locators and to make our monitoring more reliable. The possibilities are endless: Point of Sales to monitor properly CDC shares and regulate availment of specific incentives and privileges; automated monitoring of tax exempt vehicles; automated permit applications; on-line viewing of status of permit applications; on-line viewing of relevant regulations for guide; on-line query and feedback, to name a few.We shall review policies to make them responsive to changing global trade and investment environment.

Engr. Mariz MandocdocAssistant Vice PresidentCDC Permits/ Licensing and Monitoring

Immigration, Customs and Quarantine Project

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Feature

On Hallowed Grounds

Once in a year in the Philippines, the living takes over the land of the dead, and for a day, cemeteries become vibrant with lighted candles and flower arrangements as relatives and friends gather to remember their beloved departed. But inside the Clark Veterans Cemetery, commemoration is not bound by tradition, but by bonds of fraternity forged in troubled times.

The old Clark Veterans Cemetery in Clark, Pampanga. Photo: www.cvcra.org

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Advocacy and assistanceIn 2010, the Clark Veterans Cemetery

Restoration Association (CVCRA) was established, a non-profit organization advocating for the reassumption of the rightful and obligatory responsibility of the US government over the veterans cemetery that America forgot.

CVCRA is increasing public awareness and urging the American public to demand that their government take care of its own and “let no vet be forgotten,” particularly those who “served with honor.”

In 2011, Peregrine Development International, an American business firm operating in Clark collaborated with the VFW Post 2485 to donate and construct a new perimeter fence and gate for the cemetery. Additional land was also annexed to provide parking facilities. Another American owned establishment, the Del-Marco Marble Company joined Peregrine and the VFW 2485 in restoring the Monument to the Unknown Dead. However, the bullet marks and artillery damage were left untouched. Later research showed that the “RODOREDA” engraving at its base could be traced to a marble shop in Carriedo, Manila during the Spanish times. Rodoreda was prominent enough to be worth a mention in Jose Rizal’s “Noli Me Tangere.”

The obelisk was relocated to the center of the cemetery and mounted on a larger base. On Memorial Day, May 30, 2011 it was rededicated to all of the 2,139 Unknown Dead now resting in the cemetery.

Today, as one enters the main gate of Clark, the cemetery immediately presents itself on the left. The tombstones stand, as if in one final formation, facing the flags of their nations, facing all who pass by. They As for the friends and loved ones they have left behind, a struggle continues, believing that the least that a grateful nation can do is to never forget and leave behind its heroes.

Rommel De Jesus with additional data from www.cvcra.org

Beyond its gates fly two flags. Majestic trees serenely stand as honor guards, reminding visitors that here lie ordinary

men and women who gave the ultimate gift of life. Here, history has been lived by those long gone, their stone markers mute to the glory that was preserved and to the respect that was won.

Before the entrance is a small marker like those found at every kilometer along the highway from Mariveles, Bataan to San Fernando, Pampanga. “DEATH MARCH,”it gravely states, and above this phrase is a figure of a man holding on to a comrade while he bends down to reach a fallen soldier. No one is in so deep a distress that he cannot give a hand to those in need, as proven in countless instances as defeated Filipino and American soldiers walked under the April heat of 1942. From San Fernando, the prisoners were transported by train to the Camp O’Donnell Prisoner of War facility, passing within 100 yards of the cemetery.

Near the flagpoles is a stone with a marble plaque. It reads: “CLARK CEMETERY SITE WAS ESTABLISHED IN 1950 AND CONTAINS NON-WORLD WAR II RELATED REMAINS FROM THE BASE AND OTHER U.S. CEMETERIES IN MANILA. IT IS THE LAST ACTIVE USAF CEMETERY OUTSIDE OF THE U.S. THE GRAVES DATE BACK TO 1900. ALL BRANCHES OF THE UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES ARE REPRESENTED AS WELL AS PHILIPPINE SCOUTS, PHILIPPINE CONSTABULARY, AND CITIZENS OF OTHER NATIONS. THE CEMETERY CONTAINS 12,000 GRAVE SITES IN AN AREA ENCOMPASSING 20.365 ACRES. ERECTED BY THIRTEENTH AIR FORCE, 4 JULY 1984.”

Such economy of words belie the living history of the cemetery, a narrative that begins at the turn of the previous century, when American colonizers began to establish military posts all over the Philippines, and since death has always been a kin to war, graveyards as well.

Inside the McKinley cemetery stood the Monument to Unknown Dead, a six and a half foot obelisk of the finest Vermont marble dedicated in 1908 by the Ladies Memorial Association of Manila to unknown dead American soldiers, sailors and marines.

Strategically located on a hill overlooking Manila and its bay, the cemetery took intense enemy fire during World War II, and the obelisk suffered some damage during the liberation of Manila.

After the war, the Philippine and American governments decided to consecrate the cemetery to 17,000 WWII dead throughout Southeast Asia. A new cemetery was established in Fort Stotsenburg, where those interred in McKinley were transferred. Likewise, those buried in Sangley Point and in the two smaller cemeteries in Fort Stotsenburg were consolidated and re-interred there. By the end of December 1950, 5,056 remains were relocated, and the obelisk commemorating the unknown soldiers was also transferred.

Fort Stotsenburg was turned over from the US Army to the US Air Force in 1949 and was renamed Clark Air Force Base. The consolidated burial ground was renamed

Clark Veterans Cemetery.

They who restRecords show the earliest burial was that

of Private Santiago Belona, a Filipino Scout who served in the US Army and who died on January 13, 1900. He is believed to have been originally interred in one of the two old Fort Stotsenburg cemeteries. Belona is one of the 650 Filipino Scouts buried there. Most of the dead are thousands of soldiers from the US Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Coast Guard, veterans who served in the Spanish American, Philippine-American, Korean, Vietnam, and the two world wars, and their dependents. In 2004, a young soldier was killed by an improvised explosive device in Iraq. He is the first fatality of that war to be buried in Clark.

Other than military dependents, there are several hundred civilians immured, including those who served in the US Army Quartermaster Department during the 1900s and a female civilian trumpeter of US Army 9th Cavalry who died in 1916. Interred, too are a few foreign nationals who died inside various military posts, such as nine Vietnamese who were among the 30,082 “boat people” or refugees being processed through the Clark Air Force Processing Center.

Another burial and rebirthIn 1991, the violent eruption of nearby Mt.

Pinatubo buried Clark with volcanic debris. It also wrote finis to American military presence, and consequently the American

administration of the cemetery. Neglected, the headstones suffered the corrosive effects of the thick

volcanic ash. Soon, wild vegetation took over.

The Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2485 (VFW 2485) signed an agreement with the Clark Development Corp. (CDC) in 1994 allowing it to administer and maintain the cemetery. Since then, VFW 2485 has arrested the decay of the cemetery even with its meager resources through volunteerism and donations.

Entrance gate of the Clark Veteran Cemetery now along M. A. Roxas Highway, CFZ.

“Let no vet be forgotten”

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When factories, stores and residences are erected, schools can never be far behind. Found

within the confines of Clark Freeport are the Philippine Science High School – Central Luzon Campus, the newest branch in the foremost science and mathematics-oriented secondary school system of the country, and the Ateneo Graduate School of Business, also a shoot off the internationally recognized campus in Loyola Heights. And standing tall among the two is a Clark pioneer and the torchbearer of excellence, freedom, and social awareness of which its mother campus is known: the University of the Philippines Diliman Extension Program in Pampanga (UPDEPP).

Punctuating the mutually beneficial symbiosis between Clark and the Subic Bay Freeport area, UPDEPP also supervises the UP Diliman Extension Program in Olongapo (UPDEPO).

Paths to the pastIn 1953, during the era of American

military presence in Clark, the University of the Philippines established an extension program designed for American personnel and dependents who sought higher education while stationed within the former air force base. Ironically, the democratic atmosphere of Diliman did not exactly waft through its walls, because it hardly hosted Filipino students. Even then, locals already referred to it as “UP Clark,” although it was not a constituent campus similar to Los Baños or Baguio.

Fomenting the same spirit of the so-called Diliman republic, the faculty actively promoted the Filipino culture to generations of Americans while providing them with an education that was at par with world standards. The academic experience gave the expatriates an insight to nationalistic sentiments, particularly during the height of anti-imperialistic movements in the country.In 1979, UP expanded its presence in the region by establishing UP Extension Program in San Fernando (UPEPSF) under a Memorandum of Agreement with Pampanga Governor Estelito Mendoza, himself a distinguished alumnus of its College of Law. With this development, the Clark unit was eventually closed. For 15 years, the new unit held classes in an old but historic building near the Provincial Capitol. However, the 1995 lahar onslaught in the capital town of San Fernando took with it the operational capability of the campus site, and the unit was forced to relocate.

Still, the soul of the Oblation stood with a defiant persistence. In 1996, UPEPSF returned to Clark, now abandoned by its former American military occupants. However, lacking a permanent status, the unit moved from one site to another, until it finally settled in what was once a warehouse along Claro M. Recto Highway in 1999. With its location now relatively more secure, its identity reverted back to UPDEPP, but it has become more known as UP-Clark or UP Pampanga.

Current programsApplicants who successfully hurdle the

UP College Admission Test and who opt to study in the Clark campus have a choice of three undergraduate programs: Bachelor of Science in Business Management,

UP-CLARK: Sustaining the scholars of the

people

Feature The Oblation in UP Diliman

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The perspective of the proposed Academic Buildings of UPEPP in Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga. Photo from http://upepp.upd.edu.ph

Groundbreaking ceremony of UPEPP in Clark. Photo from http://upepp.upd.edu.ph

Bachelor of Arts in Business Economics and Bachelor of Arts in Applied Psychology.

It also offers graduate students the opportunity to undergo the Masters of Management Program. It goes without saying, however, that program admission requirements are quite strict. Among others, an applicant must pass the UP qualifying examination for graduate students after which an interview is scheduled.

Foreign students may apply for the graduate program and even in a non-quota program, provided all stringent requirements are followed and submitted.

Programs in the pipelineNext year, both the UPDEPP and

the UPDEPO will offer the following tracks under the Master of Management Program: Sustainable Eco-Cultural Tourism Management and Environmental Management. These two tracks are intended to equip provincial, city and municipal personnel as well as private industries in planning and implementation on their agenda for tourism development and environmental protection programs, both of which are crucial in the development of Global Gateway areas in the region. Henceforth, specialization in the graduate management program will be offered by track.

In UPDEPP’s agenda within the next five years is the opening of a Science and Technology Program that will cater for the needs of industries in the Freeport and beyond, for professional skills in materials science and engineering.

The offered courses reflect the vibrancy of human resources within the Freeport as it seeks to transform itself as the next logistics and production hub of the country. Clark must attract the best people who have the skills, knowledge and attitude to be adept managers and leaders, and the presence of UPDEPP assures locators that an extensive talent pool will always be available.

PartnershipsThe influence of UPDEPP in the Freeport

extends even to other concerns. The knowledge base of the campus has been instrumental in actively assisting CDC with its tourism program development. Its research expertise has also been utilized by the Clark International Airport

Corporation (CIAC) in strengthening its logistics capability.

Its faculty has also promoted research, which is the essential foundation of a university. The unit has gathered scholars, educators and researchers within the region and boosted their individual and collective awareness and interest in inter-disciplinary research, publications and methodologies.

In the last five years, UPDEPP has been studying the traditional industries that have been identified with Pampanga: furniture making, lantern making, meat processing, cuisine, pottery and quarry industries. The aim of the research project is to assist and promote these industries on their way to growth, competitiveness and globalization. The offshoot of the study is the establishment of an Industry Studies and Assistance Center. UPDEPP recently organized the lantern makers of Pampanga to enable them to work collectively in advancing the lantern industry.

To fulfil UP’s mission as the country’s national university, UPDEPP and UPDEPO assist provinces in the region in development planning, and link with higher educational institutions, regional research centers and extension programs towards better synergy in the trifocal functions of the university in instruction, research and extension. These two units in Central Luzon will always be ready to help solve problems in all levels of decision-making in both public and private sectors and the region’s communities.

Championing local cultureUPDEPP also has undertaken an active engagement of the rich culture of Central Luzon. In the face of an overwhelming onslaught of memes fuelled by electronic media that do not recognize boundaries, the unit is seeking to revive the genius loci, or the “spirit of the place.” Of noteworthy mention are the various conferences it has organized, like the Kapampangan Writing Workshop Conference on Folklore and Globalization, Kapampangan Poetry Reading, Kapampangan Regional Conference, and the Congress of Kapampangan Writers. It has launched Tuglung, a journal of literary Kapampangan creations.

The indigenous people of the region are also within the radar of UPDEPP. At a historical moment when the Ayta heritage seems to be disappearing faster

than the forest cover of the surrounding mountains, the unit has advocated the establishment of the Hawong Ayta Museum and Study Center. Launched in coordination with the CDC, the Center is an effort to assist marginalized Aytas while utilizing its tremendous anthropological and sociological potentials. The Center has produced a Functional Literacy Curriculum that will aid Ayta education in upland communities. UPDEPP is also involved in the Ugnayan ng Pahinungod, an outreach program that has a special regard for the Aytas.

A new dawnOn June 22, 2007, CDC formally turned

over a 3.28 hectare lot to UP to be jointly developed as a “university town” and the permanent site of the country’s foremost educational institution within the Freeport. The new site will be the global window of UP, strategically situated while Clark is being prepped as the premiere international gateway of the Philippines.

UPDEPP is now working towards the transformation of the unit from a Diliman extension program into a Diliman college in Clark and Subic.

The UPDEPP is now under the leadership of Dr. Florencia Charito I. Sebastian, who was sworn in as last August 1, 2011 by UP Diliman Chancellor Caesar A. Saloma. Dr. Sebastian pursued specialization in Economics of Culture under her doctoral program in Philippine Studies, and is teaching Development Economics, Social, Political Economic Theory, and Economics Research. She served two bicameral commissions that produced landmark laws in education and training, as well as in agriculture and fishery modernization. She was one of the chief technical researchers of the Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM) that trifurcated the country’s educational system in the early 1990’s and served as Executive Director of the Congressional Commission on Agricultural Modernization (AGRICOM), and later, the Congressional Oversight Committee on Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization (COCAFM).

She is supported by an impressive faculty and staff that are committed to stand and deliver, in the words of Chancellor Saloma, “the human capital that is essential for building a better future.”

With such a dynamic presence of UP in both Clark and Subic Freeports, there is indeed a bright promise of development in all its dimensions.

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Profile

This truth is fittingly illustrated by the life story of Tarlac City Mayor Gelacio “Ace” Manalang, whose truly

inspiring voyage have frequently been cited by a number of public servants who have manifested their wish to emulate his accomplishments.

To sum up all of these achievements would be a formidable task, for they are truly many, from his boyhood until his

present return to public office.With his faithful perseverance and

overriding dedication to service, Mayor Ace managed to carry out the tasks he has set to complete, and with them, he was able to remarkably transform Tarlac City into one of the fastest booming metropolises of the land in just a short period of time.

Mayor Ace did not just burnish the external veneer of the city; his administration has

delivered public and social services that have enhanced its standing among the local government units of the country. Without doubt, Tarlaqueños are now living in an atmosphere of prosperity.

BeginningsBefore Manalang was able to accomplish

all his successes in public administration, the adversities brought by extreme poverty

Amazing Ace!It has been said that the road to success has never been a straight line. It always has curves, loops or bumps that may delay people from prospering. But in the course of a prayerful persistence, goals are definitely attainable.

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to his family have molded him to endure and overcome the pain and hardship of the process of growth .

He was exposed to the harsh realities of life at a young age when he took up the struggle to help augment his family’s meager income.

As he recalls, “I was only 7 years old when I saw what poverty had done to my family. Being homeless, we would move from one place to another.”

He had to withstand the scorching heat of the sun to sell balut while preparing another job as a shoe-shine boy on the streets of Gerona,Tarlac – his birthplace.

He’d come home to his family before sunset to eat with them the supper that his meager earnings could buy, and afterwards he would rush off again to work at night.

Knowing that success doesn’t come to those who with half-hearted hopes and wishes, Ace started to dream big.

“I really wanted to finish school because I believed that this was my only way I could lift my family from poverty,” he remembers.

A vendor’s income could barely cover the cost of schooling, so he decided to work as a houseboy to augment his income.

Still, the simple demands of daily life forced him to look for other ways to earn, and this led him to practice another trade – selling fish.

He would wake up in the wee hours in the morning to join other vendors jostling for the early catch while boys his age were still in dreamland, never rising till the sun was up.

“I always felt sleepy by the time I attended my classes but in spite of that, I kept doing my school work and still made it to the top of my class,” he glowingly said, as he reminisced his first achievement in life.

When he reached high school, Ace began to attain modest prosperity, becoming a fish broker. This was the circumstance that led

him to meet his wife, Patsy, also then a fish broker.

After several successful business endeavors together, they experienced a downturn and they eventually hit rock bottom in the succeeding years. “Life was never easy for us then. We were broke, and my first son Darwin was struck with meningitis at that time. It was so painful to see my son dying because we were so insolvent and helpless, not being able to afford even the basic medicine he needed to save his life,” he sadly recalled.

After the hard hit, the couple started picking up the pieces. They moved from Barangay San Roque to Sto. Cristo, until they finally settled in Ligtasan.

Political lifeIn 1982, a new horizon loomed when

the dogged persuasion of then Barangay Chairman Augusto Tabamo convinced the reluctant Manalang to run for councilor in the barangay elections where he won convincingly.

“I faithfully did what my office required of me, and because of that, my constituents were satisfied with my performance. That is why when Chairman Tabamo migrated to the US, the people asked me to run as his replacement for the chairmanship of the barangay. With God’s grace I won,” he said.

His budding political career slowly blossomed, and their fish business also went back on its track.

In 1987, Manalang threw his hat in a much bigger political arena where he was elected as one of the promising municipal councilors. With his remarkable achievements in legislation, Tarlaqueños rooted for him to run for the mayoralty race in 1992.

For the first time in the history of Tarlac City, a simple man from the masses won the

votes of the people over his more powerful and affluent adversaries.

Manalang was able to wake the then Tarlac Town from slumber to a hive of activity. Its economy improved and so did the peace and order situation. Numerous business livelihood opportunities became more available.

With all of these accomplishments, the then capital town leveled up, and by virtue of the ratification of Republic Act No. 8593, Tarlac town was officially proclaimed as a component city on April 19, 1998.

The patriarchThis landmark in the history of a once

sleepy town became an affirmation and realization of Mayor Ace’s hard work, rewarding him with the recognition as the “Father of the Cityhood of Tarlac,” a title that has been permanently attached to his name.

People have witnessed the transformation of Tarlac City especially in terms of improved infrastructures, traffic management, peace and order, social services and dynamic economy, among others.

“I know what it is like being deprived. I endured all kinds of hardships, even the helplessness and sheer agony of holding a dying son caused by abject poverty. My empathy with the underprivileged stems from everything I’ve gone through, and this will be the wellspring of my dedication of seeing to it that they will benefit from my experiences,” he stressed.

“With gratitude to the Almighty and the support of all Tarlaqueños, I know that we could dream more, aspire more, attain more, and experience more than we can ever conceive and achieve,” he stated.

It is said that adversity is a fierce instructor, and Mayor Ace Manalang has proven himself to be a good student.

Mayor Ace Manalang attends to the needs of various sectors in Tarlac City.

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Natural Tarlac!Natural Tarlac!

SCAD