DOTC to add funds for airport

AUMENTADO

The Panglao Island Tourism Estate Inter-Agency Task Force (PITE IA-TF) chaired by Gov. Erico Aumentado tackled Friday the concern of where to get the funds for the P4-billion airport after the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) had committed only up to P3 billion. MIAA General Manager Alfonso Cusi earlier said the authority will get the amount from payables of the Philippine Airlines (PAL).

The task force invoked Section 6 of Memorandum Order (M.O.) 178-A signed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on January 13, 2006 that provides that the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary shall regularly releases the allotments and disbursement authority … as authorized in the General Appropriations Act, covering both loan proceeds and local fund counterparts, and from the budgets of DOTC [Department of Transportation and Communications], PTA [Philippine Tourism Authority], DOT [Department of Tourism], ATO [Air Transportation Office] and PPA [Philippine Ports Authority].

M.O. 210 later amended this to include MIAA as a funder.

With such a huge share from MIAA, Aumentado said it is but fair that the authority - not ATO - will implement and subsequently maintain and operate the airport so that it can recoup its investment.

With the funding requirement fully covered, Serrano said he will push tomorrow with the Pre-Qualification, Bids and Awards Committee for the publication of the notice to bid.

Provincial Legal Officer Handel Lagunay said the province has already acquired 163.6 hectares of the required 195 hectares for the runway and terminal. He reported that the "problematic areas" for expropriation are located at both ends of the runway near the boundaries and would pose no problem even if ground leveling were to start now.

Airport city Meanwhile, the task force will adopt the 'airport city' concept in the development of the Panglao airport.

The decision came after Serrano presented the concept at Friday's meeting.

"I share the vision of MIAA to set up an airport city in Panglao Island as support facility to make the Panglao Airport economically viable. The plan is not far-fetched - it can be realized with MIAA and the government working in tandem with the private sector," Aumentado said.

Serrano said the concept was born out of a comprehensive study conducted by MIAA, ATO and DOTC that chart the national aviation program.

The current thrusts in airport development are giving way to broader, more encompassing concepts, he explained.

"The airport city will spell big earnings from non-aeronautical activities," he said, adding that the concept is now being applied in Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, the United States and Europe.

Development is now geared to integrating the role of the airport in shaping an area or vicinity. This new type of urban form features aviation-intensive businesses and other enterprises within the airport and its immediate vicinity.

This includes hotels and entertainment facilities serving as job engines pump-priming the economy. It would therefore attract corporations, international business presence, travelers and high-income jobs, among others.

Rep. Edgar Chatto (Bohol, 1st District) was of the same mind as Serrano and Aumentado.

He said putting up an airport necessitates the development of the surroundings, that is, the infrastructure goes hand in hand with a living and dynamic activity center.

Also sold out to the idea, Panglao Mayor Benedicto Alcala immediately asked who will be tasked to acquire the lots for the airport city.

Serrano pulled everyone back, however, saying that the airport city is a conceptual paper yet.

"For now, it is just benchmarking: a check of what would be applicable for Panglao where it has become successful in many parts of the world," he said.