PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte has issued an executive order reclassifying the Clark Industrial Estate 5 (IE5) as an international center of commerce, industry, leisure and recreation.
Mr. Duterte signed on June 4 Executive Order (EO) No. 81. The Palace released to reporters copies of the order on Monday.
The new order amends EO No. 716 (series of 2008), which declared the IE5 a logistics center and ordered, among others, that the Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) “shall only engage in aviation, aviation-related services and aviation-related logistic activities.”
The new EO noted that the IE5 has “attracted international attention and interest as the Asia-Pacific Region’s emerging premiere hub for aviation and international logistics, as well as an international center for commerce, industry, leisure and recreation.”
With the new EO, the CIAC is now “authorized to enter into lease agreements and similar business arrangements covering the IE5 for a broad range of commercial, industrial, leisure and recreation-related activities.”
The EO, which takes effect immediately, said the move is “vital to the development of the entire Clark area as a globally competitive international commercial center in the Asia-Pacific Region.” — Arjay L. Balinbin
