MCIAA should develop Cebu airports, not CAAP

I read in yesterday's The Freeman report that the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) has offered to develop the airports in San Francisco, Camotes and Sta. Fe, Bantayan Island. That report stated that Acting Gov. Agnes Magpale will have some exploratory talks with CAAP officials on the development of these two airports. Hmmm interesting.

First of all, let me explain clearly to the incoming officialdom of the Province of Cebu, notably incoming Gov. Hilario “Jun Jun” Davide, III why during the time of then Cebu Governor Emilio “Lito” Osmeña, he asked his brother, then Senator John “Sonny” Osmeña and Rep. Raul del Mar for the creation of a law creating the Mactan Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA), which was approved in the early 90s.

The principal reason for the creation of the MCIAA can be traced to the workings of Imperial Manila, where even a simple purchase of a toilet paper has to emanate from Manila. Back then, CAAP was called the Bureau of Air Transportation (BAT) under the umbrella of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC). So let's ask… why should the CAAP be interested in developing the Bantayan and Camotes airports when these two facilities are under the jurisdiction of MCIAA? Pardon my hunch, but developing airports means funding, which, as you know in this country, can lead to corruption. 

In my book, the only time that the Province of Cebu should talk to CAAP is when the board of directors of MCIAA would relinquish its jurisdiction over these two airports as mandated by law. Allowing CAAP to develop these two airports would mean that the Province of Cebu would lose control over these two airport facilities.

So the next question to ask is, why hasn't MCIAA developed these two airports? Again the problem is lack of money. But more than money, the Province of Cebu still has to come up with a memorandum of agreement with MCIAA for the turnover of these lands from the Province of Cebu to MCIAA. These are lands that do not yet belong to MCIAA. 

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Pardon my lack of optimism or enthusiasm about the holding of peace talks with the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing the New People's Army (NPA) because we know too well that their not-so-secret agenda is the takeover of our democratic government in order to install a communist state in these islands called the Philippines from the mountains of the Cordillera to the forests of Compostela Valley or in Caraga.

If at all the communist insurgency has lasted this long, it is due to the reality that most local government units (LGUs) would rather “tolerate” the presence of the NPAs in their territory in exchange for the right to campaign in those NPA infested areas during elections. Worse for this country is the fact that the above ground allies of the CPP, like Bayan, Gabriela, AnakPawisEtc, Etc, Etc. have gained entry to our political system through the party-list system and therefore use their pork barrels to fund their insurgency, which is tantamount to cooking the Filipino people in their own oil.

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Last week, a traffic enforcer belonging to the Cebu City Traffic Operations & Management (Citom) was gunned down by a policeman. This was followed by the mauling of PO2 GerlitoEstremos in Barangay Kamangayan, Cebu City. Suddenly, Cebu City is fast turning into another “Dodge City” reminiscent of the old days of the Wild, Wild West when the rule of gun was the law. So the question is… are we still a nation of laws and not of men?

What is discomforting in these killings is that, it has involved members of the Philippine National Police (PNP). What could be the cause of the killing of the Citom enforcer by that policeman? What about the killing of PO2 Estremos in Kamangayan? Was this a protection racket gone wrong?  While I may agree with Cebu City Police Office Acting Director Mariano Natu-el, Jr. for not giving the media details of their investigation, however he must act fast so we can apprehend the culprits and get into the bottom of these senseless killings.

Meanwhile a lot of pundits have already expressed their opinion that it is about time that the City of Cebu or all the component cities of Metro Cebu should avail of that not-so-new technology called the Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) in strategic areas. These devices are no longer as expensive as they were 10 years ago and it is a great tool to capture on video major intersections in order to monitor our traffic and peace and order problems. When will the PNP ask PNP HQ for the budget for a CCTV? If Metro Manila has a CCTV, why can't we have one in Metro Cebu?

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