By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia has expressed opposition to the removal of the Bacolod-Silay Airport from the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) program, saying there is a need for expanding the airport’s runway and terminal.
Leonardia, who had previously served as senior vice chairman of the committee on transportation in the House of Representatives, said he lobbied for the Bacolod-Silay Airport to be one of the priority projects in the country.
He explained five airports were ultimately chosen for the PPP program under the administration of President Benigno S. Aquino III namely Davao, Bacolod-Silay, Iloilo, Cagayan De Oro (Laguindingan), and the proposed New Bohol Airport in Tagbilaran. The Bacolod-Silay Airport, said the former solon, would be funded by a total of P20 billion over the years based on studies showing the terminal building’s capacity.
The Mayor explained the existing terminal was designed to handle around 800,000 passengers a year when it opened a decade ago. But on the first year of operation alone, 880,000 were recorded to have passed through the terminal. “Currently it is now running at 1.7 million passengers a year,” said Leonardia.
Moreover, he said based on the data taken from the Department of Tourism (DOT) and the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), the Bacolod-Silay Airport has more inbound and outbound flights compared to the New Iloilo International Airport.
Earlier this week, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said they canceled plans to bid out contracts to modernize, operate and maintain the five major regional airports in the country.
However, the DOTr said they would pursue the modernization and development of the projects, estimated to cost P108 billion, using funds from the government or through overseas development assistance (ODA) loans.
The DOTr also insisted the change in the procurement mode will not necessarily delay the implementation of the projects./WDJ