The Department of Education (DepEd) will relocate the Salazar Elementary School (SES) at Barangay Funda-Dalipe in Antique’s San Jose de Buenavista town to pave the way for the rehabilitation of the Antique Airport.

“Mayor Elmer Untaran has already informed us that they have found a new site for the relocation of the SES still within the barangay,” DepEd Schools Division-Antique Engineer Rex Galero said in an interview yesterday.

Galero added that they are coordinating with the Department of Transportation and the local government unit of San Jose de Buenavista for the relocation.

The budget for the procurement of the new school site and its construction is already included in the P500 million budget for the Antique Airport rehabilitation project under the 2023 General Appropriations Act.

The SES sits in a 3,500 square meter area, which is near the airport runway.

The school’s two new buildings with 10 classrooms could be affected by the airport expansion.

Juanito Tanchico Jr., Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines manager in Antique, in a separate interview, said the airport runway cannot accommodate airbuses yet.

“The Antique Airport, as of now, is only 1,300 meters wide,” he said, adding that the runway has to be widened to at least 1,980 meters to be able to accommodate an airbus.

He also said that once the expansion is finished, the Antique Airport is expected to become competitive with the other airports in the country and be able to entice other airline companies to operate in the province. (PNA)