CLARK FREEPORT—A multimillion-peso Civic Center on a 12-hectare lot in Barangay San Isidro is now rising in the City of San Fernando (CSF), Pampanga’s capital city.
CSF Mayor Edwin “Edsa” D. Santiago, who was guest of the Balitaan media forum organized by the Capampangan in Media Inc. (Cami) in cooperation with the Clark Development Corp. (CDC) at the Bale Balita here last Friday, said proudly that the Civic Center is being put up “debt-free.”
“So, now we are finishing two schools there [stand-alone K to 12] as well as a ‘tech book,’ and a command and control center costing P220 million,” he said.
The mayor also said a permanent evacuation center, which was funded through Rep. Dong Gonzales; two Senior Citizens’ Centers; a Youth Development Center; a City Park; Drug Special Education Center; a Sports Center; and satellite offices are now being constructed at the civic center.
Santiago added that a tourism road that will connect the towns of Santa Rita to Lubao that will connect to the North Luzon Expressway (Nlex) Mexico exit to Barangay Anao, Arenas, Arayat, and then Nueva Ecija is now being readied.
The mayor said a convention center in Barangay Calulut, CSF, will also be constructed.
“Manny Pacquiao will put up a big convention center in Calulut which will begin construction next month,” Santiago said.
Because of this, Santiago said, he has requested Mexico Mayor Teddy Tumang to put up a service road parallel to Nlex from Mexico to Pau and Pandaras in CSF.
He said he has no qualms in asking his fellow mayors for infrastructure development “because in order to succeed, we need the collaboration of everybody, even the private sector and the academe.” Santiago said in San Fernando, a Child Development Center has been prioritized.
“We model it from the French, Germany and Japan. It’s zero to two years old and two to four years old before we introduce them to pre-school,” he said.
“That is why CSF is No. 1 in National Achievement Test in the region, because we focus on education,” Santiago said.
The mayor said “values” should be taught. “Dakal a biyasa pero ela magaling, dakal a magaling pero ela matinu, dakal a matinu ala lang pusu, dakal atin pusu ela makibahagi. [There are many who are intelligent but they are not wise, there are many who are wise but they are not proper, there are many who are proper but they have no heart, and there are many who have heart but they do not cooperate],” Santiago said.
“It should be complete, that is the purpose of education, that is why we build a civic center that is owned by the government, that is owned by the people, that is why it is called civic center,” he said.
“Only in San Fernando, it is the people who own the Civic Center, not the officials,” he added.