The Clark International Airport Corp. said it is deferring the collection of lease rentals of its locators in direct response to President Rodrigo Duterte’s appeal during his recent State of the Nation Address for government agencies to assist the business sector adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We currently have about 45 locators and we told them that they don’t have to right now pay their rentals for the months of April to June this year, and they also do not need to worry about paying any interests or penalties on delayed payments,” CIAC president Aaron Aquino said.

According to Aquino, the ECQ and GCQ were imposed inside Clark Freeport Zone during the months of April to June.

“We hope this policy will serve as a springboard for businesses here at the aviation complex to promptly recover from the sudden business disruption and income loss caused by the pandemic,” Aquino added.

CIAC’s newest policy to grant assistance to its locators affected by the Covid-19 pandemic comes in the wake of President Duterte’s another call to lawmakers to finalize the Bayanihan II Act, a recent measure to finance government-initiated programs to help businesses, employees and marginalized members of society to cope with the impact of the pandemic.

In addition to the deferred collection of lease rentals during the quarantine period, Aquino said CIAC locators are also given a 30-day grace period from the last due date of their rental payments or from the date of the lifting of the ECQ, MECQ and GCQ, “whichever is longer, without incurring interests.”

After the grace period, locators are then given the option of paying their unsettled accounts through a twelve-month installment scheme, he added.

“This means the amount of rentals accrued by locators during the ECQ, MECQ and GCQ can be equally amortized in twelve months following the end of the 30-day grace period, and again without interest or penalties,” Aquino clarified.

The Clark Civil Aviation Complex managed by CIAC is home to the privately-run Clark International Airport, as well as the mixed-use business district Clark Global City, and currently around 45 locators in cargo and aviation-related businesses.