Tourism boost
GOKONGWEI-owned Cebu Pacific Air (CEB) is helping the province of Surigao del Norte in Caraga Region back to its prime as a major tourist destination after it was struck by a strong earthquake in February.
Timed for the summer vacation, the country’s largest carrier has resumed commercial operations in the capital city of Surigao, a move to further boost tourist arrivals in the area known for its beautiful islands and beaches.
The province’s tourism industry has been adversely affected by the 6.7 magnitude earthquake that damaged or destroyed some of its major infrastructure, including the Surigao City Airport
All flights to and from Surigao City were temporarily suspended after its 1700-meter runway was partially damaged by the strong quake.
But thanks to the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Caap) for its fast action to work on the damaged runway for just 12 days, faster than its target to fully restore it between 28 to 30 days. The airport is back in operation last March 11.
With its restoration completed and following a thorough assessment of the airport’s runway, CEB through its wholly-owned subsidiary CebGo has resumed regular flights on its Surigao route, operating two daily flights from Cebu.
“After assessing the repairs done on Surigao airport runway, we have determined Nelson C. Bagaforo that we may resume safe flight operations. We laud Caap for its expedient action to restore the runway,” according to Atty. JR Mantaring, CEB vice president for corporate affairs.
“We are pleased to once again be of service to every Juan in the City of Island Adventures,” he added
With this, tourists, specially those coming from Visayas and Luzon, can now visit Surigao without the hustle of taking a long ride by land from Butuan City.
Passengers who needed to fly to Surigao had to take the Butuan route after the airport’s commercial operation was suspended, then travel to Surigao by land for about three to four hours.
This summer, island and beach adventures in Surigao del Norte will be more exciting and will continue to attract tourists. ***** The Bureau of internal Revenue has called on taxpayers to pay their taxes before the deadline set on April 17 to avoid rush inconvenience. The agency announces it is accepting as early as now transactions for income tax payment. (nelsonbagaforo@gmail.com)