Clark takes measures to sustain employment, industries

CLARK FREEPORT ZONE, Pampanga, July 17 (PIA) — Clark Development Corporation (CDC) has undertaken actions for a possible rental reprieve of locators who are still coping with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. 
 
CDC President Noel Manankil said they have written the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) for authority to grant reprieve from April to June, saying the CDC is one with its locators in surviving the challenges of the pandemic. 
 
“We have received a reply letter from DTI allowing us to explore to what extend we can grant the reprieve. This was reported to the CDC Board and we have written and asked for guidance from the Office of Government Corporate Counsel and the Commission on Audit. We expect this to be settled in one month. But in the meantime, we will not start collecting rent for the said period until it is finally resolved,” he said.
 
Aside from the rental reprieve, Manankil said they are collaborating with the Clark Investors and Locators Association (CILA) to sustain jobs of thousands of workers in the Freeport. 
 
The CDC chief said they are now focused on addressing the specific needs of each industry inside the Freeport, and are 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. In fact, we have been monitoring the number of employees reporting on a weekly basis,” Manankil said. 

In his report, Manankil said that 59 percent of the total labor force in the Freeport, or 78,686 workers, are now reporting to their workplaces.
 
He also cited that of the 45,474 workers under the industrial sector, which comprised a large portion of workers in the entire Freeport, 28,642, or 63%, are now reporting for work.
 
“This is the result of the resumption of operations by 491 firms or 39% of the 1,262 locator-companies here,” he CDC chief said. 
 
For their part, CILA President Francisco Villanueva Jr. said they will continue to support 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 added.
 
Villanueva added that a bubble housing facility for Clark employees is also in the pipeline as part of their measures to ensure the safety and well-being of the labor force in the Freeport. (CLJD/MJSC-PIA 3)