Philippine Centennial International Exposition 1998, also known as Expo Pilipino, was a

world fair A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...

organized as part of the 100th anniversary of the declaration of

Philippine Independence 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 ...

on June 12, 1898. The event which featured Philippine history and culture was held in a 60-hectare site at the

Clark Special Economic Zone 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 while ...

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 ...

Pampanga Pampanga, officially the Province of Pampanga ( pam, Lalawigan ning Pampanga; tl, Lalawigan ng Pampanga ), is a province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Lying on the northern shore of Manila Bay, Pampanga is bordered by Tarlac ...

. The exposition, including its site, was a project of the National Centennial Commission (NCC) and the Philippine Centennial Exposition Corporation.

Facilities

The Expo Pilipino had a 1-seat

amphitheater An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ...

which was used as a site for concerts, ecumenical services and political rallies after exhibitions at the complex were halted.

Participants

The exposition had a projected 150 investors participating as of May 1998.

Budget

The construction of Expo Filipino entailed a total budget of ₱3.5 billion (

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

63.64 million). Then-

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Fidel V. 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 ...

directed three state-run financial institutions—

Social Security System Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifical ...

(SSS),

Government Service Insurance System The Government Service Insurance System ( fil, Paseguruhan ng mga Naglilingkod sa Pamahalaan, abbreviated as GSIS) is a government-owned and controlled corporation (GOCC) of the Philippines. Created by Commonwealth Act No. 186 and Republic Act ...

(GSIS), and

Land Bank of the Philippines Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP; often referred to simply as LandBank), is a government-owned bank in the Philippines with a special focus on serving the needs of farmers and fishermen. While it provides the services of a universal bank, it ...

—to lend a total of ₱1.4-billion (US$25.45-million) to the joint venture.

Legacy

The project was criticized for the excessive amounts of money that went to its construction. Particular targets of criticism were: a "Freedom Ring" (>₱1.2-billion); a parking lot (₱111-million); an entry zone (₱118-million); display villages (₱290-million); and an artificial river (₱76-million) that had bridges spanning it (total ₱32-million). Expo Filipino closed down in 1999 under President

Joseph Estrada Joseph Ejercito Estrada, (; born Jose Marcelo Ejercito; April 19, 1937), also known by the nickname Erap, is a Filipino politician and former actor. He served as the 13th president of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001, the 9th vice preside ...

, allegedly after sustaining heavy losses. The Expo Pilipino site was reopened on December 8, 2005 as Clark Expo an events venue by 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 ...

(CDC) for trade shows and other events. The former Expo Pilipino venue was redeveloped as part of 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 ...

's directive to boost

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

and investment activities inside the

. The site served as the venue of the 25th anniversary celebration of the Philippines' longest-running noontime show, ''

Eat Bulaga! ''Eat Bulaga!'' (), formerly ''Eat... Bulaga!'', is a noontime Philippine television variety show broadcast by GMA Network. Produced by TAPE Inc., it is the longest running variety show in the Philippines with over 13,000 episodes. Originally ...

'' dubbed as ''Eat Bulaga! Silver Special'' held in November 19, 2004 and the grand finale of the first season of the reality television show, ''

Pinoy Big Brother ''Pinoy Big Brother'', more popularly known by its abbreviated title ''PBB'', is the Philippine version of the '' Big Brother'' reality game show franchise. The word '' Pinoy'' in the title is a colloquial term for the Filipino people. Is a Phi ...

''. A portion of the Clark Expo site was redeveloped into

Nayong Pilipino Clark The Nayong Pilipino Clark is a cultural park featuring themed areas of Filipino culture at the Clark Freeport Zone in Mabalacat, Pampanga. History The Nayong Pilipino Foundation (NPF) originally was maintained a cultural theme park in Pasay which ...

. In early 2010, most of the remaining site was relaunched as Clark Education City by the Australian International Training and Management group (AITMG). Initial construction of the campus cost

AU$ The Australian dollar ( sign: $; code: AUD) is the currency of Australia, including its external territories: Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and Norfolk Island. It is officially used as currency by three independent Pacific Isla ...

6-million, with a capacity of 15,000 students. The institution delivers a range of vocational courses accredited by the Australian Government, English language teaching, and customized training for mining, oil and gas, and affiliated industries. The facility now operates as Site Skills Training RTO 32531, which is one of the business units of Site Group International in the Philippines.

References

External links