Clark Development Corporation (CDC) President and CEO Manuel R. Gaerlan recently met with PLDT Chairman and CEO Manny V. Pangilinan and discussed undertakings that will boost ICT capabilities in the Clark Freeport Zone.
Gaerlan said PLDT is one of the most important partners of the state-owned firm as it will significantly contribute to making the Freeport a smart and technology-focused investment destination.
On top of telecom projects, the meeting also tackled other utilities such as fuel distribution in Clark.
Clark is host to Clark Telecom – a subsidiary of PLDT—which is considered as one of the leading internet and telecom services providers in Clark. The 92-year company was also present during the presence of American troops inside the former US Airbase.
PLDT also rolled out the very first 5G service inside Clark in 2018, making the Freeport lay a foothold on reliable and extremely high speed with low latency internet connection. 5G service is key in achieving IOT (internet of things) that create smart cities.
In 2017, a P1.3 Billion Vitro Data Center Clark was launched by ePLDT here. The said facility is the first Rated-3 data center facility outside Metro Manila, based on the TIA-942 standards. This certification is given to data centers that are concurrently maintainable in design, which means each component that is part of the distribution path can be removed, replaced, or serviced on a planned basis without any disruption in the client’s ICT capabilities.
Meanwhile, aside from internet and telecommunications services, the MVP Group of Companies which is also chaired by Pangilinan, has also poured-in various investments and interests in the Freeport.
Some of these are the Clark Electric Distribution Corporation (Meralco), e-PLDT, and the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation (PDRF).
The PDRF is being supported by PLDT – SMART and other network of business conglomerates that maintain collaborative efforts to assist in disaster management and preparedness in the country. It features a command center which harnesses data from local and international sources to monitor earthquakes, tropical cyclones, volcanic eruptions and pandemics and maps data on public infrastructure to help protect them from hazards.
Officers and executives of PLDT who also received Gaerlan and CDC Chief of Staff Dennis Legaspi at the PLDT office include PLDT Executive Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer Alfredo Panlilio, PLDT and Smart Senior Vice President and Group Head Enterprise Business Jovy Hernandez, PLDT ClarkTel CEO Chito Franco, PLDT ALPHA Enterprise First Vice President and Head Victor Tria, and Metro Pacific Investments Government Relations and Public Affairs Head Atty. Michael Toledo.