Expansion of Kalibo airport pesters farmers
PN
KALIBO, Aklan – There seems to be a problem in the expansion of the Kalibo International Airport, and it’s not the budget.
The Department o f Transportation ( DOTr) allotted P6 billion for the airport’s improvement and expansion.
I t will be used f or the construction of new t e r minals, a pron, a nd taxiway, among others.
However, farmers who own the land surrounding the airport refuse to sell the area for the price set by the provincial government.
“We have to fast- track the land acquisition so that construction can start,” said Gov. Florencio Miraflores.
T h e p r o v i n c i a l government offered P600 per square meter to the f armers but t he l atter insisted on raising the price to P5,000.
“I wonder why t he farmers are asking as high as P5,000,” said Miraflores.
German Baltazar, one of the farmers, said they do not oppose the airport development but s ai d, “I f ever we accept such an amount, how can we survive? It’s not only the land they’re taking, they’re also taking our livelihood.”
Despite this, DOTr said 90 percent of the land area was already sold.
A c o mpl a i n t wa s filed at the Office of the Ombudsman- Visayas i n Iloilo City against the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines- Kalibo ( CAAP- Kalibo) for i ts failure to craft a resettlement plan for the affected farmers.
Office of the Ombudsman- Visayas officer- in- charge Evangeline Nuñal ordered CAAP- Kalibo chief Efren Nagrama t o answer t he allegation in a document.
reached to Nagrama but he refuses to
Panay News comment on the issue./
PN