Tourism envoy calls for action to soften impact of Bacolod airport closure
Bacolod City -- An envoy of the Department of Tourism (DOT) in China, Japan and Korea is urging for an "action agenda" to soften the impact of the closure of the Bacolod City Airport in November this year.
Lawyer John N. Orola Jr., former Bacolod congressman, said he wrote Bacolod Mayor Evelio R. Leonardia, through City Administrator Dr. Roger Balo, suggesting either the retention of the city airport for smaller airlines, or to convert it into another growth area.
"I am requesting for more information and action agenda from the city government as to the would be scenario and status of Bacolod airport once the airport of international standards in Silay City, some 20 kilometers north of Bacolod, will open in November this year," Orola said.
Orola said he is echoing the sentiments and concerns of some business sectors in Bacolod, especially in the hotel and restaurant business, which might be adversely affected once the P1.4 billion New Bacolod-Silay Airport is opened in Barangay Bagtic, Silay.
"Bacolod porters, small businessmen and travelers to and from the southern part of Negros are also concerned of the adverse impact of the Bacolod runway closure in November due to the distance of the new airport in Silay from the south," he said in a statement.
"There is nothing we can do but to support the new airport in Silay since the structure there is already finished but what is something to look deeper is the adverse impact it can create to Bacolod economy, especially to the business sector and other travelers who will choose and opt for destinations that can provide them easy access and their business missions," Orola said .
The former solon suggested that the Bacolod government must start consultations with other local governments and the private sectors on the alternatives it can offer to make the city airport here another growth area for Bacolod if its retention is no longer possible.
Orola said the Bacolod government can start negotiating with Mr. Lucio Tan whose company Philippine Airlines (PAL) owns the lot where the PAL terminal is located here, and to negotiate with the Air Transportation Office (ATO) or the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) to retain the Bacolod Airport for general aviation where small or light aircrafts such as Sea Air or Asian Spirit can use for other selected routes in Visayas and Mindanao either for mercy flights or tourism purposes.
"President Glorial Macapagal-Arroyo has declared the entire Visayas a pilot site for tourism programs and projects," Orola said.
"While the highly urbanized capital city of Bacolod will lose its airport, smaller cities in Negros Occidental like Kabankalan, Escalante and Sipalay are soon starting to build their own airports," he added.
(PNA)