Merger of 2 Clark firms in final phase

CLARK FIELD, Pampanga — The merger of the state-owned Clark Development Corp. (CDC) and the Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) has reached its final phase with the appointment of yet another CDC vice president and general manager for the 2,500-hectare airport.

CDC president and chief executive officer Emmanuel Angeles announced the other day that Bienvenido Ocampo-Manga will assume as CDC vice president and general manager of the Clark airport.

Manga resigned as assistant general manager for operations of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

Early in her administration, President Arroyo approved the CDC-CIAC merger, with the CDC as the "assuming corporation."

Last month, Capt. Frank Puzon, whom former President Joseph Estrada appointed as CIAC chief, resigned to give way to the merger.

Last week, Angeles also announced the appointment of Victor Jose Luciano as CDC executive vice president, Romeo Dyoco as vice president for planning and development, Douglas Yballe as vice president for administration and operations, and Noel Manankil as vice president for finance.

The merger is expected to affect middle-level management. An evaluation committee has proposed that the number of CDC department managers be reduced from 35 to 22 by merging some departments.

The committee is headed by CDC board member Benigno Ricafort, with two consultants hired by the Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA) as members. — Ding Cervantes