PAF submits plan for transfer of 7 units from Clark

CLARK FREEPORT, Pampanga, Philippines - – The Philippine Air Force (PAF) has submitted to the Department of National Defense (DND) a detailed plan on the transfer of seven of its major units from this freeport to other areas.

PAF spokesperson Lt. Col. Miguel Okol told The STAR that it is up to higher authorities to approve the plan and release the funds for the transfer.

“We are giving way to progress and development of Clark, but without compromising  national security,” Okol said adding the approval of the transfer plan rests with the DND and the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA).

He said the transfer would start as soon as the plan is approved and funds are released. He said the timetable for the transfer would depend on the approval date of the plan and on the release of funds.

Over 300 hectares of this freeport was allocated for the PAF after the US Air Force left its base here in 1991.

The allocation is based on an agreement between the DND and the BCDA, which owns the lands within the former US military base.

The state firm Clark Development Corp. (CDC), the implementing arm of the BCDA, earlier admitted it is running out of lands for lease to investors, which prompted some sectors to call for the removal of the PAF units here.

The PAF area, dubbed Air Force City, is under the 600th Air Base Wing but it also hosts the 1st Air Division, the 410th Maintenance Wing, the 420th Supply Wing, the 710th Special Operations Wing, the Air Force Logistics Command and the Air Force Reserve Command.

“These major units will be moved to other places, such as in Subic with the consent of the BCDA and Basa which is already ours. But some others will be moved to Fernando Air Base in Lipa and even our headquarters in Villamor,” Okol said.

Okol could not yet say the cost of the transfer but he assured families of the PAF personnel here that no movement would be done until all the infrastructure in their destinations are ready.

Hundreds of houses built by Americans within the PAF area here serve as homes for dependents of PAF personnel.

Earlier, BCDA president Arnel Casanova said the transfer of the PAF would free up more land for lease to investors.

Casanova said the BCDA has invested P33.8 billion in Central Luzon to create opportunities for investment and employment in the region.

Of the P33.8 billion, P30.68 billion was used for the construction of the 94-kilometer Subic Clark Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) that connects the Subic Bay Freeport Zone and the Clark Freeport.