CLARK FREEPORT ZONE – The recent appointment of former Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) chief Aaron Aquino as the new president of the Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) is a “positive step towards further strengthening the agency’s capacity to develop the civil aviation complex,” Joshua Bingcang, outgoing officer-in-charge of CIAC, on Friday said.
“We warmly welcome Gen. Aquino and look forward to further strengthening CIAC under his able and dynamic leadership. His expertise and vast experience in the executive branch of governance is a positive addition to the BCDA Group,” Bingcang, concurrent Senior Vice President for Business Development of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), said.
CIAC is a subsidiary of the BCDA by virtue of EO 716, issued by then President Gloria Arroyo on April 3, 2008. The Department of Transportation (DOTr), on the other hand, exercises policy and operational supervision over CIAC.
Bingcang added President Rodrigo Duterte’s appointment of Aquino as the new CIAC chief will further boost the agency’s efforts in establishing a globally competitive aviation complex at the Clark Freeport Zone.
Also last Friday, the CIAC board of directors unanimously expressed support to Aquino as the new President and Chief Executive Officer of the government corporation.
Bingcang added that Aquino’s appointment to CIAC bodes well for the national government’s drive to expand airport infrastructure and capacity as the agency gears toward the development of the Clark Civil Aviation Complex, specifically in establishing a world-class commercial hub surrounding the airport.
The Clark aviation complex is home to the privately-run Clark International Airport (CRK), as well as the mixed-use business district Clark Global City, and currently around 46 locators in cargo and aviation-related businesses.
Major projects in the pipeline also include the new Air Traffic Control Tower, the upgrading of the Airfield Ground Lighting System, a new radar system, and the construction of the second runway in conformity with the CRK Master Plan.
Aquino had spent some time in Central Luzon when he was appointed regional director of the Philippine National Police by Duterte upon his assumption to the presidency in 2016.
Afterwhich he was named PDEA chief where he served for more than two years before he was moved to CIAC.
