The Clark Freeport and Special Economic Zone (CFEZ), often shortened to Clark, refers to an area in

Central Luzon Central Luzon ( pam, (Reyun ning) Kalibudtarang Luzon, pag, (Rehiyon na) Pegley na Luzon, tgl, (Rehiyon ng) Gitnang Luzon, ilo, (Rehion/Deppaar ti) Tengnga ti Luzon), designated as Region III, is an administrative region in the Philippines, ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. The CFEZ in Pampanga covers portions of the cities of Angeles and

Mabalacat Mabalacat, officially the City of Mabalacat ( pam, Lakanbalen ning Mabalacat; fil, Lungsod ng Mabalacat), is a 3rd class component city in the province of Pampanga, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 293,244 people ...

and portions of the town of

Porac Porac, officially the Municipality of Porac ( pam, Balen ning Porac; fil, Bayan ng Porac), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Pampanga, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 140,751 people. The Subic–Cl ...

while parts of the area in

Tarlac Tarlac, officially the Province of Tarlac ( pam, Lalawigan ning Tarlac; pag, Luyag/Probinsia na Tarlac; ilo, Probinsia ti Tarlac; tgl, Lalawigan ng Tarlac; ), is a landlocked province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. It ...

include portions of the towns of

Capas Capas, officially the Municipality of Capas ( pam, Balen ning Capas; tgl, Bayan ng Capas), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Tarlac, Philippines, and one of the richest towns in the province. The town also consists of numerous su ...

and

Bamban, Tarlac Bamban, officially the Municipality of Bamban ( pam, Balen ning Bamban; fil, Bayan ng Bamban), is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Tarlac, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 78,260 people. The municipali ...

. The CFEZ divided into two areas, the Clark Freeport Zone (CFZ) and the Clark Special Economic Zone (CSEZ). The

New Clark City New Clark City is a planned community currently undergoing development, located within the Clark Special Economic Zone in the towns of Bamban and Capas in Tarlac province, Philippines. It has an area of approximately and will accommodate up to ...

is part of the Clark Special Economic Zone. The CFZ covers the area of the former

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

facility,

Clark Air Base Clark Air Base is a Philippine Air Force base on Luzon Island in the Philippines, located west of Angeles City, about northwest of Metro Manila. Clark Air Base was previously a United States military facility, operated by the U.S. Air Forc ...

. Most of this air base was converted to the

Clark International Airport Clark International Airport ( pam, Pangyatung Sulapawan ning Clark; fil, Paliparang Pandaigdig ng Clark; ), known as Diosdado Macapagal International Airport from 2003 to 2012, is an international airport covering portions of the cities of ...

and some remained under the control of the

Philippine Air Force The Philippine Air Force (PAF) ( tgl, Hukbong Himpapawid ng Pilipinas, , Army of the Air of the Philippines) ( es, Ejército Aérea del Filipinas, , Ejército de la Aérea de la Filipinas) is the aerial warfare service branch of the Armed Forc ...

Clark Global City Clark Global City (formerly the Global Gateway Logistics City) is a planned mixed-use central business district development at the Clark Freeport Zone in Mabalacat and Angeles City, Philippines. Udenna Corporation is responsible for the developm ...

is also part of the Clark Freeport Zone. Clark forms the hub for business, industry, aviation, education, and tourism in the Philippines as well as a leisure, fitness, entertainment and gaming center of

History

Establishment of the Clark Special Economic Zone

The Bases Conversion and Development Act of 1992 (Republic Act 7227) authorized the President to issue a decree converting the military reservation in the Clark area covering

Angeles City , anthem = Himno ning Angeles (Angeles Hymn) , subdivision_type3 = District , subdivision_name3 = , established_title = Settled , established_date = 1796 , established_title1 = Chartere ...

, and

, Pampanga and

into a special economic zone. The legislation also created the

Bases Conversion and Development Authority The Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA; fil, Pangasiwaan sa Pangkaunlarang Kumbersiyon ng mga Base) is a government-owned and controlled corporation under the Office of the President of the Philippines. It is a governme ...

(BCDA) to facilitate the conversion process. President

Fidel Ramos Fidel Valdez Ramos (, ; March 18, 1928 – July 31, 2022), popularly known as FVR and Eddie Ramos, was a Filipino general and politician who served as the 12th president of the Philippines from 1992 to 1998. He was the only career military ...

issued Proclamation No. 163 on April 3, 1993, creating the Clark Special Economic Zone (CSEZ) and transferring the administration of the area to the BCDA. The proclamation included the

and portions of the Clark reverted baselands not reserved for military use to the CSEZ. The

Clark Development Corporation The Clark Freeport and Special Economic Zone (CFEZ), often shortened to Clark, refers to an area in Central Luzon, Philippines. The CFEZ in Pampanga covers portions of the cities of Angeles and Mabalacat and portions of the town of Porac whil ...

, a subsidiary of BCDA was founded to oversee the development of the area in the same year. The Metro Clark Advisory Council (MCAC) was also formed shortly as a mechanism for the CDC to coordinate with local government units in the area. The following year, President Ramos declared Clark as the future site of a "premier" civilian international airport with a 14-million passenger capacity by 1998 but this plan did not come to fruition as projected. On June 14, 1996, the CSEZ was expanded with the addition of the Sacobia area, which includes lands from

, Pampanga and

, through Ramos' Proclamation No. 805. The CSEZ was placed under the

Philippine Economic Zone Authority Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) is a government agency in the Philippines attached to the Department of Trade and Industry created to help promote investments in the export-oriented manufacturing industry into the country by assisting ...

on March 10, 2006 by then President

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal Arroyo (, born April 5, 1947), often referred to by her initials GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician serving as one of the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines, House Deputy Spe ...

through Proclamation 1035 granting tax and duty exemptions to export company locators operating within the CSEZ. The Clark economic zone lost these exemptions in 2005 after a

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

ruling that these exemptions under the BCDA charter are exclusive to the Subic economic zone.

Creation of the Freeport Zone

The Clark Air Base area, also known as the Clark Main Zone was declared a Freeport Zone and was separated from the special economic zone through Republic Act 9400 of 2007. Since then the Freeport Zone and the Clark Special Economic Zone were considered as separate areas but collectively they are occasionally referred to as the "Clark Freeport and Special Economic Zone".

Further reorganization

In November 2018, the BCDA and the

grouped four developments within the CFEZ namely the Clark Freeport Zone,

, and New Clark City as "districts" under one brand dubbed as "Clark: It Works. Like A Dream".

Areas

Clark Freeport Zone

Clark Special Economic Zone (CSEZ)

References

External links

Clark Freeport Zone Website
{{Clark Freeport and Special Economic Zone Industrial parks in the Philippines Free ports Tarlac Angeles City Mabalacat PEZA Special Economic Zones 1993 establishments in the Philippines