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Clark gears up to welcome world leaders

Clark, the pride of Pampanga province in the Philippines, is putting on its glad rags to welcome world leaders including President Donald Trump and President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe

Words and photos Veeramalla Anjaiah (The Jakarta Post)
Sat, November 11, 2017

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Clark gears up to welcome world leaders

Clark, the pride of Pampanga province in the Philippines, is putting on its glad rags to welcome world leaders including President Donald Trump and President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Leaders of the 10 ASEAN member states -- China, Japan, Korea, the US, India, Russia, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Timor Leste -- will arrive in Clark to attend the 31st ASEAN Summit, gala dinner to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of ASEAN and the 12th East Asia Summit and related meetings, which will be held in Clark and Manila on Monday and Tuesday. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and a delegate from the European Union will also be in attendance.

Many people may wonder why President Rodrigo Duterte selected Clark instead of Manila to host all these world leaders. The Philippines had a bad experience in 2015 when it hosted the APEC Leaders’ Summit in Manila. It was a big mess. Hundreds of flights were either delayed or canceled and thousands of passengers were stranded for hours.

Clark International Airport, formerly known as Diosdado Macapagal International Airport, is relatively small but it is located in the one of the biggest aviation complexes in Asia.

Clark, a former American air base, is located 80 kilometers northwest of Manila. Clark, named after Major Harold M. Clark, used to be the biggest American air base outside the US.

In 1991, the US handed Clark and adjacent Subic Bay Naval Base over to the Philippine government. The Philippine Air Force still maintains an air base at Clark, which is also known Clark Freeport Zone.

Trump will stay at the Mimosa Leisure Estate, which has a beautiful golf course.

The ASEAN 50 gala dinner, which will be attended by 1,300 guests, will be hosted at the SMX Conventional Center in the Mall of Complex Arena. The food will be prepared by famous chef Jessie Sincioco and his colleagues. Pampanga’s famous local dish “sisig” -- made from pig’s head and liver -- will certainly be on the table.

The Pampanga provincial administration has decorated roads and buildings with colorful lanterns in all its major cities.

 Clark is part of a huge metropolitan area that covers two other important cities ­­-- Angeles City and Mabalacat.   

What is there to see in Clark and its surrounding areas?

It was originally home to the US Cavalry, which built Fort Stotsenberg in 1903 to station its cavalry units. In 1917, the area was converted into an airfield and renamed Clark Air Field in 1919.

A must-see place is Air Force City Park that is home to various types of planes, helicopters and guns. This is the most photographed place in Clark.

Near Clark, there is Philippine Village Park known locally as Nayong Pilipino.

“Nayyong Pilipino is a nice place to observe our village life, culture and traditions. I like it very much,” Reyladin Ebe Truz, a tour guide who lives in Mabalacat, told The Jakarta Post.

There is also an historic monument called The Salakot near the main entrance to the Clark Freeport Zone. It was built in the 1950s to symbolize the Philippine-American Military Bases Agreement of 1947.

Other areas of interest in Clark include the US Memorial Cemetery, Kelly Theater and the monuments of Col. John Stotsenburg and President Manuel Roxas Marker. 

There has been never a shortage of entertainment in Clark, Subic Bay, Angeles City and Mabalacat. In Clark itself, there are many international standard hotels, cafes, casinos, restaurants, golf courses and bars.

Riding in a hot air balloon near Clark will be an exciting experience.

“We have a Hot Air Balloon Fiesta in Clark every February,” Robert Lim, a resident of Angeles City, said.

After the ASEAN meetings, delegates must visit Angeles City, the entertainment capital of Northern Luzon.

Angeles City, some people call it a city of angels and some may call it sin city, is famous for its cheap, but quality bars, cafes, casinos, restaurants, karaokes, food and entertainment. It has all types of hotels and posh malls. The city, which was once the capital of the Philippines for a short time, has a famous entertainment district called Balibago or Fields Avenue Center, which includes the infamous Walking Street, where thousands of young and beautiful night angels work in numerous go-go bars.

Both Angeles City and Mabalacat are fast growing cities and many people from various provinces are flocking to these cities, thanks to continuous flows of foreign investment and industrialization in Clark Freeport Zone and Subic. Tourism is also growing fast in Pampanga province due to enhanced connectivity.Through the ASEAN and related meetings, Clark, Angeles City, Mabalacat and Pampanga province itself will get huge international exposure

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