The House of Representatives will soon deliberate on a measure seeking to create the Davao International Airport Authority that will administer and operate the Francisco Bangoy International Airport, also known as the Davao International Airport, in Davao City.
This came after the House committee on government enterprises and privatization, chaired by North Cotabato Rep. Jesus Sacdalan, approved HB 2002 principally authored by Deputy Speaker and Davao City Rep. Mylene Garcia-Albano who said the creation of the DIAA will have a positive effect on the economic development of Davao City and the Davao Region.
The bill was defended by Leyte Rep. Yedda Marie Romualdez prior to its passage at the committee level before Congress went on break last October. It would be referred to the plenary for reconsideration when Congress resumes sessions on Nov. 7.
In defending the measure, Romualdez, wife of Philippine Constitution Association president and former Leyte representative Martin Romualdez, said ‘‘the DIAA creation will substantially contribute to the quest of the Davao Region to emerge as the premier socioeconomic tourism center not only in the Philippines but also in the Asia-Pacific Region.”
Romualdez agreed with proponents of the measure that the DIAA creation would also spur further economic growth of the surrounding provinces in Mindanao.
The Francisco Bangoy International Airport is one of the busiest airports in the country. It also serves as the gateway to the sub-regional trade block known as East Asean Growth Area which is the center of economic cooperation in Southeast Asia that aims to accelerate trade, tourism and investment among its participating member countries like the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and lndonesia.
With the country’s existing open skies policy, Garcia-Albano said it is the best time to enhance the quality of services and competitiveness of FBIA by creating a body that will principally undertake the control, management and supervision of the FBIA, and such other airports that may be established in Davao City and the provinces of Davao.
‘‘The DIAA as a centralized body clothed with corporate personality will focus on adopting policies to exploit the potential of the FBlA to be a first-class international airport and will also implement new technologies and efficient methodologies to improve its competitiveness so as to provide a safe and more efï¬cient air transport service which is an essential element of any growing economy,’’ said Garcia-Albano.
Under the measure, the DIAA shall be responsible for the repair and maintenance of all airport assets and equipment transferred to the DIAA by the Act, including but not limited to navigational aids, primary and secondary approach radars, instrument landing system, approach runway taxi clearance, and all the communication facilities necessary for the efficient operation of the FBIA.
Department of Tourism Undersecretary Benito Bengzon expressed support for the bill, stressing that the development of the country’s airports is crucial in the fulfillment of the government’s National Tourism Development Plan.
“One of the strategies in the NTDP is that we ensure we will improve international air connectivity, international air access and domestic connectivity to facilitate the entry of foreign visitors. Because the country is an archipelago, our foreign tourists, approximately 99 percent of them, enter the country through airlines,” Bengzon told lawmakers during the hearing.
“Some countries in Southeast Asia get as much as 70 percent of their visitors arriving or entering by land. We do not have this advantage,” Bengzon added.
The chief of the Aerodrome Development and Management Service of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), Raul Glorioso, for his part, estimated that the FBIA earns at least P200,000 daily from landing and takeoff flights alone.
Glorioso said the CAAP interposes no objection to the approval of pending bills seeking the creation of airport authorities but proposed further study with respect to future development and financial requirements to determine how to sustain and fund such development.
“Since we’ll be creating an authority, it needs a subsidy,” said Glorioso.
Johann Barcena, Director IV of the Governance Commission for Government-Owned and Controlled Corporations (GCG) said the proposed DIAA should be placed under government corporations and under the authority of the GCG under the purview of the GOCC Act.
“We want to request the committee that in drafting the bill, it should align it with the GOCC Governance Act with respect to the appointment of the Board of Directors and the compensation of the airport authority, among others,” said Barcena.