Misplaced Pages

#78921

45-511: The Subic–Clark–Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx) traverses this town, the exit of which is located in Barangay Manuali. With an area of 31,400 hectares (78,000 acres), Porac is the largest town in Pampanga. It was once among the largest municipalities in the archipelago before it was divided into separate municipalities. Porac was founded on October 31, 1594, upon acceptance by Fray Mateo Peralta in

90-583: A base around Porac to help liberate the country from the Japanese Empire in World War II . Porac is 91 kilometres (57 mi) from Manila and 25 kilometres (16 mi) from the provincial capital San Fernando . It is south of Angeles City and north of Floridablanca . A portion of Mount Pinatubo is in the municipality. Porac has a hilly to mountainous terrain in the majority of its plains. Most rivers, if not all, are heavily silted by mudflow due to

135-585: A mixed-used estate in Porac known as Alviera. The development project combines business, residential, recreational, leisure, and institutional. The local government dubbed Alviera as the regional growth center of Central Luzon. [1] Now, it is a premiere tourist destination in the north, and the Philippines' hub for karting with the presence of the Pampanga International Circuit . The municipal government

180-586: A mode of payment in SCTEx since March 2018. The toll rates, by kilometer travelled and vehicle class are as follows: From 2016, the SCTEx has two service areas in Concepcion, Tarlac, north of the Sacobia River. One of the service areas is on the northbound lanes and the other one is on the southbound lanes. The northbound service area is composed of a PTT gas station and a 7-Eleven store. The southbound service area

225-439: A mostly straight route. The expressway then curves to the northeast before Floridablanca Exit. It curves toward the northwest and back to the northeast before Porac Exit. It then curves eastward and then northward near Clark Freeport and Clark International Airport . Clark South Exit, which serves those areas, lies near Mabalacat Interchange, with the exits being one kilometer (0.62 mi) apart from each other. The segment ends at

270-460: Is a 19th-century Baroque Roman Catholic church located at Barangay Poblacion, Porac, Pampanga , Philippines. The parish church is currently under the ecclesiastical province of the Archdiocese of San Fernando . The church's octagonal bell tower collapsed during the 6.1 magnitude earthquake on April 22, 2019. As early as 1594, Porac have had an established convent with the right to vote in

315-703: Is an important source of granite and a tamping ground of minerals. Porac is home to the Mekeni Food Corporation, an "AAA" Meat Processing Plant accredited with the National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS). Being classified under the "AAA" category, it is qualified to market its products, not just in the local, but in the international market as well. This means that it is compliant to all government regulatory requirements to assure food quality and safety in its operations (Sun Star, 2006). In 2014, Ayala Land and Leonio Land embarked on developing

360-687: Is composed of a Seaoil gas station and CityMall shopping mall. Both service areas include a future expansion to accommodate additional retail and parking space. This entire route is located in Central Luzon . Exits will be numbered by kilometer posts, with Rizal Park in Manila designated as kilometer zero .  The entire route is located in Mabalacat, Pampanga .  Santa Catalina de Alejandria Church (Porac) Saint Catherine of Alexandria Parish Church , commonly known as Porac Church ,

405-577: Is divided into three branches: executive, legislative and judiciary. The judicial branch is administered solely by the Supreme Court of the Philippines . The executive branch is composed of the mayor and the barangay captains for the barangays. The legislative branch is composed of the Sangguniang Bayan (town assembly), Sangguniang Barangay (barangay council), and the Sangguniang Kabataan for

450-559: Is under the jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Fernando . Its original structure, built in 1872, is largely intact but slight revisions have been made to the inside. It underwent restoration in the 1980s. The church is 52 metres (171 ft) long, 12 metres (39 ft) wide and 9 metres (30 ft) high. In the earthquake of 2019, the church belfry has been destroyed a day after Easter Sunday. Rebuilding operations are planned with call for donations to restore

495-574: The Holy Week exodus. Among the integration plans which costed ₱ 650 million are the reduction of toll collection stops, construction of additional toll plazas and the conversion of the electronic toll collection of the two expressways into a single system. Also, with the government's thrust towards toll road interoperability, Autosweep of the San Miguel Corporation which operates SLEX, Skyway, STAR Tollway, NAIAX, and TPLEX has been accepted as

SECTION 10

#1733055833079

540-678: The Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) On March 18, 2008, at exactly 1 p.m., President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo opened the Subic – Clark segment of the expressway for a Holy Week dry run. This helped motorists traveling to Zambales and Bataan for Holy Week. The dry run was free and available for class 1 vehicles only. The Holy Week dry run was from March 18, 1 p.m. to 5:30 p.m and March 19 to 24, 5:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; operating hours were limited as no street lights were installed that time. On April 28, 2008, at exactly 12 noon, BCDA opened

585-431: The 1863 earthquake because according to records, Father Isidro Bernardo laid the foundations of a new stone church sometime in 1872 and was characterized as having three naves and one transept . The said structure was renovated a couple of times since its erection: by Father Esteban Ibeas, parish priest of Santa Rita, in 1877; and in 1880 by Father Galo de la Galle. In recent years, much renovations have been executed on

630-415: The 2019 Luzon earthquake, the church suffered heavy damage when rubble from the bell tower fell on the nave of the church. Only the ground level of the four-story bell tower is left standing. The church measures 52 metres (171 ft) long, 12 metres (39 ft) wide and 9 metres (30 ft) high. The façade is simple, adorned only by Corinthian columns of its first and second levels, iron grills on

675-553: The Agreement, the SCTEX can be considered as having been built at no cost to Government. The toll system of Subic–Clark–Tarlac Expressway is a closed road system that uses cards with magnetic strips , and from March 2016, electronic toll collection, using the Easytrip system by its concessionaire, Manila North Tollways Corporation (now NLEX Corporation ), is introduced, eventually integrating

720-651: The BCDA and the Manila North Tollways Corporation (MNTC), and its holdings companies Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC) and Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (MPIC), was signed July 25, 2011. Under the business and operating agreement, MNTC will operate and manage SCTEx for 33 years, while relieving BCDA of the heavy financial burden of paying the ₱34-billion debt to the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). By virtue of

765-788: The Clark Logistics interchange in Mabalacat, where it meets the Clark Spur Road that links SCTEX with North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) and crosses over MacArthur Highway (N2). Past the Clark Logistics interchange, its main destination changes to Tarlac City and Baguio . The roadway runs at the boundary of Clark Freeport and Mabalacat city proper, where the Philippine National Railways (PNR) North Main Line to Dagupan and San Fernando , La Union also lies. MacArthur Highway parallels

810-646: The Friar's Intermediate Chapter (recorded by Fray Gaspar de San Agustin, by saying Porac has its First Minister and Friar, Fray Mateo de Mendoza. The General Headquarters and Military Camp Base of the Philippine Commonwealth Army and Philippine Constabulary was stationed in Porac from 1942 to 1946 and the local military operates against the Imperial Japanese military and local collaborators from 1942 to 1945. The Mexican Expeditionary Air Force were given

855-685: The Pio chapel, is currently utilized as a community chapel. The chapel boasts of a slender octagonal belfry and Doric columns adorning the two-level façade. Notable features of the chapel are finials found on both levels of the façade. The area in and around Babo Balukbuk in Porac has strong indications of human habitation, according to investigations published on the University of the Philippines Archaeological Studies Program website. Later test excavations confirmed this conclusion through

900-857: The SCTEX is built as a four-lane expressway mostly laid out on embankment , with some sections using cuts to traverse hilly areas. The expressway also crosses the four rivers in Central Luzon : the Dinalupihan River in Bataan , the Gumain River in Floridablanca and the Pasig–Potrero River in Porac , both in Pampanga , and the Sacobia River in Bamban, Tarlac . All exits require toll payment, and toll plazas are laid on

945-608: The SCTEX serves as one of the main expressways in Luzon. The expressway is also connected to the Central Luzon Link Expressway , North Luzon Expressway , Tarlac–Pangasinan–La Union Expressway , and the Subic Freeport Expressway . The SCTEX is the country's longest expressway at 93.77 kilometers (58.27 mi) until the completion of Toll Road 4 of South Luzon Expressway (SLEX). The Subic–Clark–Tarlac Expressway

SECTION 20

#1733055833079

990-721: The Subic-Clark segment, and a joint venture of Hazama, Taisei , and Nippon Steel for the Clark-Tarlac segment. Consultation was provided by a joint venture of Oriental Consultant, Katahira & Engineering International, and Nippon Koei Co. Ltd. (now ID&E Holdings) The total cost for the construction of the expressway is ₱34.957 billion . It was sourced through a loan from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) amounting to ¥ 41.93 billion or ₱23.06 billion with an interest rate of 0.95% per annum. ₱25.737 billion of

1035-529: The Subic–Clark segment to all vehicles. BCDA said that travel time from Manila to Subic via North Luzon Expressway would now only take 1 hour and 40 minutes while the travel time from Clark to Subic would only take 40 minutes. The Dolores exit (formerly Clark North A exit) was also opened, which connects to MacArthur Highway. On July 25, 2008, the BCDA announced the opening of the Clark–Tarlac segment of

1080-512: The administration of President Joseph Estrada with an original project cost of ₱ 15.73 billion . On September 14, 2001, the loan agreement was signed between the Philippines and Japan to finance and construct the expressway with a total cost of ₱17.84 billion (¥41.93 billion) during the state visit of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in Japan. Construction of the expressway commenced on April 5, 2005 which established its right-of-way that marked

1125-602: The church bell tower. The 1861 Pio Chapel is a circular chapel built by Don Felino Gil, founder of the Escuela de Artes y Oficios (now the Don Honorio Ventura Technical State University). Another vintage chapel is located at Barangay Dolores, north of the Porac town proper. The Our Lady of Sorrows Chapel was said to be built by the Dolores family within the old Hacienda Dolores in 1856. The chapel, like

1170-568: The church were torn down to make the more spacious church seen today. On April 22, 2019, a 6.1 magnitude earthquake struck the island of Luzon in the Philippines , leaving at least 18 dead, three missing and injuring at least 256 others. Despite the epicenter being in Zambales , most of the damage to infrastructure occurred in the neighboring province of Pampanga , which suffered damage to 29 buildings and structures, including churches. During

1215-413: The church, especially notable of these are the new naves and transept, which no longer bears any trace of the original stone used in the 19th century. The church and convent were heavily damaged during World War II. Father Daniel Castrillo, the last Augustinian priest of the parish, had the church reinforced with concrete, made other restorations and rebuilt the convent. In the 1980s, the nave and transept of

1260-748: The eruption of Mount Pinatubo and succeeding lahar flows. Tourist spots include Darabulbul Falls (nicknamed Dara Falls) in Jalung, Miyamit Falls in Sapang Uwak, and the hot springs of Sitio Puning, accessed through Sapang Bato in Angeles. Babo Pangulo offers a view of Porac and Mount Negron. Porac is politically subdivided into 29 barangays . Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios . The town of Porac has two distinct climates, rainy and dry. The rainy or wet season normally begins in May and runs through October, while

1305-515: The expressway started in 2005. Commercial operations then started on April 28, 2008, with the opening of the Subic–Clark Segment and Zone A of the portion of Clark-Tarlac Segment. The opening of Zones B and C of the remaining Clark–Tarlac Segment on July 25, 2008, signaled the full operations of SCTEX. The Subic–Clark–Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) runs northwest from Bataan and runs through the provinces of Pampanga and Tarlac . The entirety of

1350-401: The expressway up to Tarlac City. Leaving Clark Freeport, Clark North Exit comes before the expressway, where it curves and then crosses MacArthur Highway at Barangay Dolores, where a half-partial cloverleaf interchange, serving only northbound traffic, connects the two. Approaching Tarlac, the expressway crosses over the Sacobia River through a bridge mentioned before. The first service areas on

1395-403: The expressway, one serving northbound traffic, and the other serving southbound traffic, apart by one kilometer, comes before Concepcion Exit. The expressway passes near the poblacion of Concepcion, then over agricultural land of Tarlac City . Hacienda Luisita Exit, that serves Hacienda Luisita as well as connecting MacArthur Highway and serving barangays along its connecting road, comes before

Porac - Misplaced Pages Continue

1440-456: The expressway. Travel time from Clark to Tarlac was reduced to only 25 minutes and to travel the entire length of the SCTEX would only take about 1 hour. At the same time, the travel time from Manila to Tarlac City via NLEx and the SCTEX would only take 1 hour and 25 minutes. In 2015, the BCDA awarded the operations and maintenance of the expressway to the Manila North Tollways Corporation (MNTC, now NLEX Corporation ). The operator took over

1485-640: The management of the toll road on October 27. The seamless integration, which replaced the old tolling system with demolished toll plazas, was completed in March 2016 to merge the two expressways into one system. The expressway is part of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority's Subic–Clark–Tarlac Expressway Project or SCTEP, which aims to connect the ecozones of Subic and Clark. The joint-venture of First Philippine Infrastructure Development Corporation (FPIDC), Tollways Management Corporation and Egis Projects,

1530-418: The northern end of the expressway at Tarlac City Exit. A new toll plaza built on the main route serves Tarlac City Exit, whose toll gates are removed with its opening. The exit serves an interchange with the Central Luzon Link Expressway (CLLEX). Past Tarlac City Exit, SCTEX becomes Tarlac–Pangasinan–La Union Expressway (TPLEX) northward. The Subic–Clark–Tarlac Expressway or SCTEx Project was initiated under

1575-602: The presence of materials dated around 12th century to 17th century C.E. Subic%E2%80%93Clark%E2%80%93Tarlac Expressway The Subic–Clark–Tarlac Expressway ( SCTEX ), signed as E1 and E4 of the Philippine expressway network , is a controlled-access toll expressway in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines . From its northern terminus in Tarlac City to its southern terminus at Tipo in Dinalupihan , Bataan ,

1620-458: The provincial meetings. Despite this, services done by the convent of Porac had been either suspended or annexed to other convents like Lubao and Bacolor , possibly due to lack of resources and/or attacks from the Zambals , an indigenous group living in the areas near the Zambales mountain ranges . Documents, however, give hints of possible construction periods in Porac. In 1710 and 1722, the convent

1665-409: The rest of the year is the dry season. The warmest period of the year occurs between March and April, while the coolest period is from December through February. In the 2020 census, the population of Porac, was 140,751 people, with a density of 450 inhabitants per square kilometre or 1,200 inhabitants per square mile. Poverty incidence of Porac Source: Philippine Statistics Authority Porac

1710-639: The same concessionaires of the North Luzon Expressway , would handle all the operations and maintenance of the expressway. The First Philippine Infrastructure Development Corporation is a subsidiary of First Philippine Holdings, a holding company under the Lopez Group of Companies with core investments in power and tollways, and strategic initiatives in property and manufacturing. The FPIDC was eventually sold to Metro Pacific Investments Corporation in 2008. The SCTEX business and operating agreement between

1755-448: The start of the expressway's existence. The expressway is the longest in the country, covering 93 kilometers (58 mi). The original project for the expressway is divided into two segments: the 50.5-kilometer (31.4 mi) Subic-Clark segment and the 43.27-kilometer (26.89 mi) Clark-Tarlac segment. The contractors for the project are a joint venture of Kajima , Obayashi , JFE Engineering , and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries for

1800-725: The termini of the expressway. SCTEX starts at Tipo Interchange, its intersection with the Subic Freeport Expressway (SFEX) in Dinalupihan , near Barangay Tipo in Hermosa, Bataan . The expressway initially traverses the Roosevelt Protected Landscape and is built parallel to the Jose Abad Santos Avenue (N3) until Dinalupihan Exit, where the expressway curves northward and tracks the Angeles-Porac-Floridablanca-Dinalupihan Road as it follows

1845-412: The toll system of the expressway with North Luzon Expressway 's. Before March 2016, the toll system is completely independent, with toll collection from NLEx and vice versa being done at a toll plaza on Clark Spur Road in Mabalacat, until the structure's demolition following the toll system integration. In March 2016, the integration of the North Luzon Expressway and the SCTEX was completed, in time for

Porac - Misplaced Pages Continue

1890-458: The total project cost represents direct costs such as expenses incurred for the construction of the SCTEX. The indirect costs of ₱7.146 billion include land acquisition, consultancy services, project management expenses and taxes and duties. Financing costs of ₱2.074 billion include the Department of Finance guarantee fee and JBIC loan interest during the construction period. Toll Fees are approved by

1935-620: The youth sector. Since the founding of the town of Porac in 1867, various Roman Catholic structures have been built in the area to aid in the religious practices of the devout Kapampangans. As of writing, three notable Spanish-era religious structures are extant within the municipality. The largest of the three, the Santa Catalina de Alejandria Church is located at Barangay Poblacion and still functions as one of Porac's main parochial structures. The other two are currently utilized as barangay chapels. The Santa Catalina de Alejandria parish church

1980-584: Was constructed to provide a more efficient transport corridor between Subic Bay Freeport , Clark , and the Central Techno Park in Tarlac, foster development on the municipalities served, and connect major infrastructures such as the Subic Seaport and Clark International Airport . Built by the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), a government owned and controlled corporation , construction of

2025-605: Was relieved from paying its rent to the San Agustin Monastery in Manila. On September 31, 1734, the convent received permission from the Provincial Fathers to use the funds of the convent to build a church. The first masonry church of Porac may have been finished around this time with Fathers Manuel Obregon and Nicolas Mornier responsible for its construction. The 18th-century church may have sustained severe damages from

#78921