Lapid offers Clark as embassy row

SAN FERNANDO CITY – Clark Field may soon become embassy row if terror-stricken embassies in Metro Manila follow the provincial governor’s suggestion for them to relocate to the former US air force base.

Pampanga Gov. Lito Lapid has urged embassies in the metropolis, some of which shut down Thursday amid alleged terror threats, to move either permanently or temporarily to Clark, now the country’s biggest special economic zone.

"Security is more than adequate at Clark where most of the units of the Philippine Air Force are located," provincial administrator Benalfre Galang quoted Lapid as saying.

The area is also adequately covered by the Armed Forces Northern Luzon Command based in Tarlac and the PNP Special Weapons and Tactics Group based at Camp Olivas here, the official said.

Galang noted that since Clark was founded by the Americans about a hundred years ago, it has remained unperturbed except during the last world war when Japanese forces took over it.

"I think that the governor’s proposal for the embassies to locate at Clark would be a welcome one for President Arroyo who is Capampangan," Galang said.

He said that Lapid is serious in his proposal, adding that the governor would formalize it in a letter to Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas Ople, who is expected to relay the proposal to the President and the National Security Council.

The Canadian and Australian embassies in Makati City recently shut down amid alleged threats from terrorists. The European Commission office has stopped operating temporarily while the Israeli Embassy also closed Friday as a precaution in celebration of Jerusalem Day.

Galang said that the Clark Development Corp. (CDC) headed by its president and chief executive officer, Dr. Emmanuel Angeles, would surely welcome the move, as he noted that there are existing buildings at Clark which could be upgraded for the relocation of foreign embassies.