Waste money
The fact that a provincial airport that is just 30 kilometers away from an existing one in the same province or about 30 minutes away will be built using the public’s money should already be an indication that something is definitely amiss with this project.
And if President Duterte is indeed serious in doing away with useless and extravagant spending of public funds, then this is something that he should immediately shelve. After all, he just signed the TRAIN law that seeks to raise new sources of funds even at the expense of increasing taxes on fuel which will burden everyone. Are these the kinds of projects these new revenue sources will fund?
I am talking about the proposed Partido Domestic Airport to be built in San Jose, Camarines Sur, which according to news reports is part of the President’s marching order under the Convenience Mobility of Transportation program that will connect islands and far flung areas.
While it is true that Camarines Sur has become one of the fastest-growing tourist destinations in the country, doesn’t it make economic sense to just rehabilitate and expand the existing airport in Pili instead of building a new one?
And what is the basis for choosing San Jose as the site of a second airport in CamSur? Why is it that of all of a sudden it has two budgetary allocations totaling P224.5 million in the 2018 national budget despite the fact that San Jose was not even identified as a priority candidate airport site? And why is the proposed New Naga Airport project in Pili town obviously being set aside via lack of funding both under the 2017 and 2018 national budget?
The Naga Airport upgrade is a priority project of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA). In fact in 2013, the then Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) already gave the greenlight to the upgrade and entered into a memorandum of agreement with the CamSur provincial government on this project.
A feasibility study and master plan released by DOTC in 2014 revealed that the upgrade of the Naga Airport was the most feasible and practical undertaking among four airport options for the province. In the final report for the Naga Airport Development Project, Pili was also ranked number one in the list of candidate airport sites. An exhaustive study done through site investigations, review of available secondary data, key informant interviews and the application of multi-criteria analyses resulted in the existing Naga Airport in Pili ranking first in terms of viability, officials say.
Business-wise, Pili should also be the airport site since it is a first-class municipality that serves as the center of agroindustrial development, business and trading in the province.
Sources say that after Pili, the three other sites considered in the master plan were the towns of Ocampo, Pasacao and Libmanan. San Jose was only in the supplemental list of candidate airport sites.
Another reason why everyone seems to be up in arms against the proposed San Jose Airport project is the lack of prior consultation with concerned stakeholders in the decision to provide funding for it. It is said that even local government executives and organizations are against this project, including those of San Jose and five more municipalities of the fourth or Partido district. This legislative district only comprises 10 towns.
The San Jose project also has no official endorsement by the Regional Development Council, no prior planning and surveying. In fact, it was only last Nov. 13 when the state-run Partido Development Administration (PDA) belatedly asked for tax declarations, field assessments and appraisals from the provincial assessor’s office for certain areas to be covered by the project.
Incumbent Rep. LRay Villafuerte, in a recent letter to President Duterte sent through Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade, has asked the President to have the budgetary allocation for the San Jose Airport reviewed and reconsidered, saying that the 2018 budget for the said project is without basis since it is not viable and feasible and is without prior planning and consultation with the affected sectors.
Similar letters were addressed to Senate finance committee head Sen. Loren Legarda, who chairs the Senate finance committee, House appropriations committee head Rep. Karlo Nograles, and to Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno and Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia.
He noted that the Naga Airport, whose upgrading and expansion are incorporated in a 15-year plan, has always been given a budget for the past years (P1.002 billion in the 2016 GAA and P670 million in 2015).
Villafuerte emphasized that allocating funds for an airport that is only 30-40 kilometers away from the existing airport is not only very unreasonable, but also arbitrary, unnecessary, and an excessive waste of government funds.
The Mayors’ League, Vice Mayors’ League, Councilors League, and Association of Barangay Captains of CamSur adopted resolutions opposing the San Jose airport project. A number of business, tourism and farmers groups have also said that they find San Jose to be too far to be an ideal site for an airport. Six of the 10 mayors in the fourth district where San Jose is are also against it, Villafuerte revealed.
Vice President Leni Robredo and Naga City Rep. Gabriel Bordado have separately opposed the San Jose Airport project and assailed the DOTr for allocating nothing for the Naga Airport in the 2017 and 2018 GAAs.
If politics and vested interests are the only reasons why this San Jose airport project is being pushed and the rehabilitation of the existing airport in Pili is being shelved, then President Duterte should show to all and sundry that he will not allow this, just like when he fired supporters and people close to him who have been appointed to government positions simply because of allegations of impropriety.
For comments, e-mail at mareyes@philstarmedia.com