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| CAAP: "best effort in improving Marinduque Airport..." |
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.
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| 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.
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| DOTC: Funds allocated for expansion of apron, rehabilitation of PTB, concrete paving of runway |
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| 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..." |
