CLARK FREEPORT – The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) has recommended to Pres. Aquino the allocation of P1.3 billion for the upgrade of the Clark International Airport (CIA) here amid assurances the airport would be converted into one of the country’s premier gateways.
In an exclusive interview, Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) President-CEO Victor Jose Luciano said the funding proposal is now pending in Malacanang after it was endorsed by Transportation Sec. Joseph Emilio Abaya.
Luciano said this is on top of the P1 billion approved loan from the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) which he described as “standby funds” for the further development of the CIA.
Luciano cited the fund allocations for the airport here as “clear indication that we are not playing second fiddle (to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport).”
He admitted plans of the government, however, to eventually close the already congested NAIA as soon as it has reached “saturation point”, and opt for yet another international airport “probably south of Manila.”
But he also debunked reports that Sangley Point, also a former US military facility in Cavite, is being considered in lieu of Clark as alternative premiere international airport amid congestion at the NAIA in Manila.
“The plan is just to use Sangley only for general aviation involving small aircraft and that is why the air force’s strike force there is being moved to Lumbia in Cagayan de Oro,” he said.
Advocacy groups headed by the Pinoy Gumuising Ka Movement and Central Luzon leaders have been batting for the full conversion of Clark into a premier international airport since 1994, when then Pres. Ramos signed Executive Order 192 declaring this former US air force base as the “future site of the country’s premier international gateway.” The CIA boasts of 2,500 hectares of land and two parallel runways, each measuring 3.2 kilometers long.
Recently, Pampanga 3rd District Rep. Oscar Rodriguez vowed to help speed up the full development of Clark as NAIA’s “twin” premier international airport.
“Yes, I can champion the cause, but I need your help,” he said.
