Photo by: CDC
CLARK FREEPORT, Pampanga — The Clark Development Corp. (CDC) is exploring ways to link residents of Panukulan, Quezon with employment opportunities generated by businesses in the Clark Freeport as part of efforts to extend the benefits of the investment hub to communities outside its immediate area.
CDC President and CEO Atty. Agnes VST Devanadera raised the jobs linkage during a Sept. 14 benchmarking visit by about 150 barangay officials and municipal representatives from Panukulan, led by Mayor Alfred Rigor Mitra.
“Magpapadala po kami ng mga vacancies dito sa Clark,” Devanadera told the delegation, signaling a possible mechanism for sharing job openings and recruitment opportunities with Panukulan residents.
Clark currently hosts about 1,290 investors and locators employing approximately 151,000 workers, according to CDC. The employment base is expected to expand as additional companies establish or scale up operations in the Freeport.
Devanadera said the proposed linkage could give Panukulan residents access to employment opportunities in Clark while allowing the municipality to better match its workforce with the requirements of industries operating in the Freeport.
She also cited CDC’s Town and Gown Program, which connects Clark-based companies with academic institutions through internships, on-the-job training and industry immersion.
Photo by: CDC
The program, she said, provides students with practical workplace experience while allowing companies to develop a pipeline of potential employees. Partner schools regularly send students to Clark companies, including semiconductor firms, for industry exposure.
Beyond employment, the benchmarking activity gave Panukulan officials an overview of Clark’s transformation from a former military reservation into a major economic center for manufacturing, logistics, tourism, services and investment.
The delegation sought to examine Clark’s approaches to investment promotion, infrastructure development, tourism and public-private partnerships that could inform development initiatives in Panukulan.
The visit also provided an avenue for CDC to share institutional practices with local government officials pursuing strategies to generate investments, create jobs and strengthen local competitiveness.
For CDC, the engagement highlights the potential of intergovernmental cooperation to translate Clark’s investment ecosystem into broader employment and skills-development opportunities for communities beyond the Freeport.
The agency continues to position Clark as a venue for benchmarking, knowledge exchange and partnerships with local governments seeking to develop their own investment and employment strategies.