(Photos by Jun Jaso, Pamp PIO)
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – Pampanga’s business tycoon urged the local media yesterday to fully support the Provincial Government of Pampanga and the private sector in their initiatives to prepare the province as a new megalopolis and a counter magnet of Metro Manila in terms of its progressive economy by 2022.
During the luncheon meet of Levy P. Laus, chairman and chief executive of the Laus Group of Companies and chairman emeritus of the Pampanga Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PAMCHAM) with the media, Laus stressed that the media has a big role in the development of the province.
According to the top businessman, more investments, developments and infrastructures are now being pushed outside the Metro Manila area and Central Luzon particularly the province of Pampanga will benefit from it.
Laus said a proper plan should be developed in order for the province to avoid the urban ills of Metro Manila.
“If we will not do that (proper planning), seven years from now we’ll start clamoring for the decongestion of Pampanga. Let’s make Pampanga one of the most livable places not only in the Philippines but most probably in other parts of the world. We can do that by planning ahead. The governor has all the good intentions to do that and we just need to support the governor and the private sector to provide the necessary inputs that will be given,” Laus said.
It can be remembered that Gov. Lilia ‘Nanay’ Pineda and former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo tapped urban planner Architect Felino Palafox Jr to draft a master plan to make Pampanga a resilient province of the 21st century.
The governor wants the province to avoid the urban ills of Metro Manila, such as land and air traffic, housing backlogs, water shortage and environmental decay, while it addresses its own, such as flooding.
LIEZEL CAYANAN
