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A parked car before (left) and during (right) the eruption. (Tom Aber)
front just by allowing the Americans to stay.
Of all the towns surrounding Clark Air
Base, it was Angeles City that was in the
best position to reap the most benefits
whether the Americans stayed or their base
reverted to the Philippine government. The
city had an efficient electric power distribution
system, plush hotels and restaurants
(as well as clubs), good housing facilities and
modern subdivisions, access to Manila, highstandard
schools, brisk trading with other
towns in the region, and steady supply of
skilled manpower. There was a livelihood
village between Angeles and Magalang, and
a thriving rattan and furniture industry.
It was really the best of times for
Angeleños. Non-Kapampangans from other
regions, and even fellow Kapampangans
from other towns in Pampanga and Tarlac,
envied them for their access to Clark’s FEN-
TV; by simply installing a special antenna
on their roofs, Angeleños were able to
watch US shows which other Filipinos would
be able to see only weeks later. It was also
the heyday of PX goods, which enabled
Angeleños to strut their wares like peacocks,
everything from imported Adidas
and Lacoste to Spam and chocolates and
multivitamins. Angeleños were even able
to watch stars like Bob Hope and Michael
Jackson fly in for shows for US servicemen
(they skipped Manila).
While Sen. Joseph Estrada and socalled
nationalists cried “Americans out!”
in the years leading to 1991, Angeleños at
first secretly but later publicly cried back
“Americans stay!”
And then 1991 came, and the debate
reached violent proportions, and just when
things were coming to an ugly climax, a
mountain just six kilometers from Clark Air
Base awakened into the century’s most explosive
eruption, and sent the Americans
back home. It was sweet irony to see the
Americans, who many thought would never
leave, not in a million years, running away
US servicemen with a prophetic movie billboard. (Bear Sobkoviak)
Headline from Stars & Stripes
without missing a beat. But it was bitter
victory for Filipinos to be able to reclaim
at last an ash-covered military base that
was next to useless.
It is to the credit of Angeleños that
Clark Air Base has not only been salvaged
but is also on its way to becoming an even
better place than it ever was.
Reference: “Angeles City, Spread your
Wings” by Ramon M. Quesada
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