ATO reopens Cotabato airport

CAMP SIONGCO, Maguindanao — The Air Transportation Office (ATO) has reopened the Cotabato City airport, but airlines using it cannot resume their operations unless they can work out security arrangements with the military to prevent a repeat of the Feb. 20 car bomb explosion there.

"We are now in the final process of refining the text of that memorandum of agreement," said Tito Labadan, a local executive of Philippine Airlines, referring to the security scheme they would jointly formulate with the Army’s 6th Infantry Division and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) police.

Leon Masalta, ATO manager in Maguindanao, said their office is done with the repair of portions of the terminal building damaged during the explosion.

Labadan said representatives of their central office will have to conduct an inspection first to certify that the airport’s common terminal and administration building have been fully rehabilitated.

The blast was so powerful that it shattered the building’s glass panels, windows and doors and caused parts of its ceiling to collapse.

"Representatives of our Manila office will first evaluate the serviceability of the airport and decide on whether to allow us to operate here again or continue the suspension of our operations in this part of the country," Labadan said.

Antonio Santos, vice president for Mindanao of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said it is important for the ATO and the local PAL office to work out the immediate resumption of operations of airlines here.