Go east for development, group urges government

MANILA, Philippines – An advocacy group is urging the government to go eastward or toward the Pacific Coast to spur socio-economic development in the area and solve the congestion problem in the metro.

PRD National Volunteers Foundation Inc. said the eastern part of the country has abundant lands for expansion, ripe for major development opportunities.

Avelino Andal, executive director of PRD Foundation and the newly-appointed head of the Philippine Coconut Authority, said going to Cavite, Subic or Clark is like a dead end route for all.

“A huge tract of land or portion of Calabarzon and Central Luzon facing the Pacific Ocean, located on higher grounds, is the better option to create new commercial, industrial, residential and government centers in order to strategically decongest the existing metropolis,” Andal said.

He said any decongestion move should consider space, trade, commerce and population density to ensure it will serve the purpose of creating new urban centers as new tax base from which the government can generate revenues.

The group noted that portions of Dingalan town in Aurora and General Nakar in Quezon are possible alternatives considering the over 80,000 hectares of land area that can be developed.

Andal said the sites could be transformed into a major seaport, airport, residential, trading, industrial center, and tourist spots.

The Dingalan Bay is also being eyed as a better alternative to the Manila port which is located five maritime days away from major trading partners such as Japan, Europe and the US.

Andal expressed surprise over a plan that takes Aurora and Quezon out of the decongestion plan in Metro Manila.

The group has already launched a signature campaign and petition to President Duterte for the creation of a new metropolis in the eastern part of the metro.