‘No politics in transfer of Tacloban airport’

MANILA, Philippines - There was no politics involved in the proposal to relocate the airport in Tacloban to another area in Leyte, Malacañang said yesterday.

Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said a study on the movement of storm surges in areas hit by Typhoon Yolanda has shown that the airport’s location is vulnerable to extreme weather.

He said the airport, which serves as the gateway to Eastern Visayas, is prone to floods.

“If it gets flooded, it will require cleaning. While the cleaning is being done, it is not possible to land there and the distribution of immediate relief will be affected,” Coloma said over state-run radio dzRB in Filipino.

“The study is based on experience and based on science. It was not tainted with politics,” he added.

President Aquino on Friday said the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has recommended the transfer of the Daniel Z. Romualdez airport to either Sante Fe or Palo because its present site is prone to storm surges.

‘No JICA study’

Tacloban City Mayor Alfred Romualdez, however, is against the move, believing that the P12 billion needed to build a new airport should just be used to help typhoon survivors.

Romualdez also questioned Aquino’s claim that there is a study recommending the transfer of the airport.

“Does it really only take months to study whether we have to transfer the airport? I’m just curious and who did the study? Just one outfit? And the problem, JICA texted me, I have communication from JICA that they are not doing any study,” the mayor said in a press briefing over the weekend. 

“In fact, their recommendation is to retain the airport,” he added.

Romualdez said he was surprised that the national government is talking about transferring an airport while they are having difficulty building houses for the displaced.

Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez also scored the plan to relocate the Tacloban airport.

He said experts have recommended that it be upgraded but remain where it is now.

“I don’t want to think that this is a political-inspired proposition, but he (Aquino) should focus on projects that would be done during his term,” Romualdez said.

He added the government should better attend to the homeless arising from Yolanda before spending at least P12 billion for the transfer.

He said the government should focus more on improving the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), which has been repeatedly tagged as one of the world’s worst airports before working on the transfer of the Tacloban airport.

According to Romualdez, JICA had already denied recommending the relocation of the facility, pointing out that the airport in Sendai, Japan will be retained in its present location despite being hit by a tsunami in 2011.

He said the Tacloban airport was opened 24 hours after Yolanda struck.

He said in the entire Eastern Visayas, there are eight small airports.

“All the politicians tried to put an airport in their towns, cities, districts but the only economically viable airport in Region 8 is the Tacloban City airport,” Romualdez said. – With Paolo Romero