PAF transfer to Subic being finalized

CLARK FREEPORT, Pampanga, Philippines – The Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA) said yesterday that only the first phase of the transfer of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) from this freeport to Subic, Zambales will be completed during the term of President Aquino.

The BCDA also said the plan will be beneficial to the business climate here as more land will be free for commercial use.

In an interview, BCDA chairman and chief executive officer Arnel Casanova said that the Department of National Defense (DND) is finalizing plans for the transfer of the PAF to Subic and elsewhere.

Casanova could not say how much the transfer will cost. He only said that the plan will be done in phases.

A retired PAF officer, however, recalled that in 2006, the government’s plan to move the PAF to other areas, including Basa Air Base in Floridablanca, Pampanga, was stalled by the cost of transfer, which was estimated at P9 billion at that time.

Casanova, meanwhile, gave assurance that moving the military from Clark Freeport will be conducive to the business climate here.