[ Manila Bulletin Online ] January 6, 2009
By DEXTER A. SEE
Funding is indication that plan to close airport has been shelved
BAGUIO CITY — The national government has earmarked P22 million for the upgrading of the Loakan airport here.
The appropriation of funds for the airport is a clear indication that a plan to close the Loakan airport will no longer push through, some businessmen here said.
Rep. Mauricio G. Domogan said P12 million was set aside in last year’s national budget, and P10 million was earmarked in this year’s proposed General Appropriations Act for the repair and improvement of the Loakan airport.
However, the lawmaker said, the P12-million fund allotted last year has not yet been released for unknown reason. He said he will work for the release of the two fund allocations.
A few months ago, President Arroyo announced a plan of the national government to close the Loakan airport to give way for the expansion of the economic zone here.
But she later back-tracked due to the clamor of city officials and residents to keep the airport open because it is the only airport in the Cordillera.
The President was convinced to withdraw her plan to close the airport after the city officials had committed to help the government look for idle vast tracks of land in Baguio and Benguet where the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) could set up an economic zone to accommodate the increasing number of investors in the Cordillera.
Domogan said the continuous operation of the airport, even without commercial flights, would make the city a top tourist destination because high-end tourists prefer to travel by chartered flights.
Meanwhile, the Regional Development Council (RDC) in the Cordillera passed a resolution asking the national government to allocate funds for the upgrading of the airport. Under the upgrading plan, the airport is to use an instrument-guided landing system. At present, it is a visual-flight landing airport.
RDC said the installation of state-of-the-art landing instruments would enable the airport to operate even during bad weather.
Before the only airline servicing the Baguio-Manila-Baguio route stopped its flight operations here, the Loakan airport was closed during the rainy season due to the dangers caused by the unpredictable weather.
As a result, flights are conducted not on a regular basis. This disappointed high-end tourists who want to visit the city when there are fewer people and lesser traffic.
The RDC said that once the proper instruments are installed at the Loakan airport, several airlines would regularly serve the Baguio-Manila-Baguio route.