Romualdezes belie PNoy's claim JICA recommends Tacloban airport relocation

TACLOBAN City, Philippines - Cousins Leyte 1st District Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez and City Mayor Alfred Romualdez on Saturday belied President Benigno Aquino III's claim that there is a study recommending the relocation of the Daniel Z. Romualdez 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. In fact, their recommendation is to retain the airport," Mayor Romualdez told reporters during a press conference at the Patio Victoria.

The mayor added that even the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines is also recommending to keep the airport in Tacloban City, the gateway to Eastern Visayas.

President Aquino had said that the government is mulling the relocation of the airport to Palo or Sta. Fe towns in Leyte province, allegedly based on the recommendation of JICA because its current location is prone to storm surge.

He had also promised that the repainting and rehabilitation of the airport will be finished by November or December this year. The airport, however, has yet to be fully rehabilitated.

The mayor said that instead of considering relocating the airport, the government should just focus on its promise to provide permanent shelter for the city' residents displaced by super typhoon Yolanda.

"My God, we are even having difficulty building houses, and we're talking about transferring an airport," he said, citing that the government would have to spend at least P12 billion for the airport's relocation.

He added: "We have been having difficulty for 20 years rehabilitating an airport (Ninoy Aquino International Airport), and we are now talking of transferring."

The mayor's cousin, Leyte First District Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, also opposed the proposed relocation of the city's airport.

“Iyung bagong airport, malayo pa ‘yan. Eh yung NAIA 1 and 2 nga named after his father, pinakawalang kwentang airport sa mundo. Tutukan natin ang mga problema ngayon, ‘wag ‘yung pag-relocate ng airport," Rep. Romualdez said.

The NAIA Terminal 1 had been tagged as the world's worst airport. The airport's ranking in the 2014 List of Worst Airports by "The Guide to Sleeping in Airports" has improved to No. 4.

“Perhaps our President should focus on projects that can only be done during his term because we feel he cannot even get this [proposed new] airport from being done within the purview of his term,” he added.

He said that aside from the JICA, the Department of Transportation and Communications and other stakeholders are opposed to the proposal to relocate the airport.

"We are quite surprised that the President is recommending that," he said. "I don't want to think that this is a political-inspired proposition, but he should focus on projects that would be done during his term."