DOTC and CAAP's best effort in improving Marinduque Airport; Reyes still wants multi-million peso loan for airport

CAAP: "best effort in improving Marinduque Airport..."

Following confirmation by the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) of fund allocation for the development of the Marinduque Airport, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP),  also confirmed its allocation of separate funds to complete the concreting of the deteriorated asphalt pavement of the Marinduque Airport runway.

The amounts of P 10-Million and P 30.68-Million have been allocated from CAAP’s corporate budget for CY 2012 and CY 2013 respectively. In a letter to Cong. Lord Allan Jay Q. Velasco, CAAP’s Head Executive Assistant, MGen Artemio G. Orozco AFP (Ret), the latter assured the Congressman that CAAP is exerting its best effort in improving the Marinduque Airport which is under its watch “for safe and efficient air travel for the riding public”.

Meanwhile, the provincial government of Marinduque appeared bent on pursuing the loan it hopes to enter into with the Philippine National Bank (PNB), for the very same purpose of concreting the deteriorated portion of the airport runway.

In SP Resolution no. 762-2012 enacting Provincial Ordinance No. 102 approved by Gov. Carmencita O. Reyes and notarized on October 16, 2012, as support document for the loan, the provincial government contended that ”ZestAir  is pulling out of Marinduque in October this year; while other airline companies do not want to fly to Marinduque because of the short and deteriorated runway”.  Zestair, however, has continued servicing the airport with flights to and from Manila. Another airline is, likewise expected to also introduce new flight services to Marinduque. Zestair earlier announced that its reason for originally considering the removal of Marinduque was merely in compliance with former DOTC Sec. Mar Roxas II’s directive to reduce flights out of Manila. Read.

Gov. Reyes: "Php 300-M is our credit line with PNB..."

A prominent socio-civic organization, Marinduque First Saturday Movers has strongly opposed the loan proposal through a petition signed by more than two thousand registered voters. Among the reasons cited by the group is that “the proponent of the loan has no clear idea on the exact amount they need and it follows that they do not have, again, a clear idea on what projects are to be undertaken” in addition to the fact that “the repair of airport runway is a national government concern and repairs should be undertaken by the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) and not by the local government”.

Seven board members of the provincial government who voted affirmatively to the loan Resolution/Ordinance were Melecio Go, Allan Nepomuceno, Harold Red, Mark Anthony Seno, Eleuterio Raza, Jr., Epifania Rosas and Reynaldo Salvacion. Dissenters were Amelia Aguirre, George Alino II, and Lauren Rosales, while Jaime Jasper Lim abstained.

The Sangguniang Bayan ng Gasan also issued a resolution opposing the loan maintaining that it will aggravate the province’s financial situation and that the amount being loaned “has no clear program of works and “the timing of the loan is suspect”, apparently referring to the forthcoming elections. Read.

DOTC: Funds allocated for expansion of apron,
rehabilitation of PTB, concrete paving of runway

Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Marinduque:
"Whereas, Zest Air is pulling out of Marinduque in October this year;
while other airline companies do not want to fly to Marinduque because of the
short and deteriorated runway..."