MikeLigalig.com

By June Blanco
Sunday Post

  “I will resign my position if the Panglao Bohol international Airport will be a no-go.”

  Thus Bohol Gov. Erico Aumentado staked his governorship over the latest skepticism in the construction of the proposed P4.2-billion airport, expressed this time by Tagbilaran City Mayor Dan Lim.

  Speaking during his weekly program The Governor Reports simulcast live over the city’s two radio stations, Aumentado gamely took Lim’s challenge.

  It came in the form of a letter to the governor dated March 13.

  Lim had responded to the governor’s letter of even date reminding the former to honor his promise to construct a wastewater treatment facility (WTF) in Taloto District in the city “after the conditionalities thereto have been met.”

  These conditionalities included the completion of the paving with concrete – instead of asphalt as originally planned – of part of Pres. CPG North Ave., and the construction of the San Jose outfall that drains into Tagbilaran Bay.

  Lim had announced the promise and its conditionalities during coordination meetings for the Bohol Circumferential Road Improvement Project Phase 2 (BCRIP 2).

  The project has since been inaugurated by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and the outfall completed, but efforts to construct the WTF have been few and far between.

  Aumentado said he thought the facility will now be taking shape with the conditionalities already met, but was surprised – and was even worried – when informed by officials of the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) central office that the city had not yet accomplished the requirements for the bank to process and release a loan for the purpose.

  He said DBP told him that the papers for the loan for the concreting of various city streets were already in but not those for the WTF.

  The governor said he cannot emphasize more the importance of the treatment facility. It is the ultimate solution to the flooding of Pres. CPG Ave. and the foul odor from the drainage canals even as it would prevent the pollution of Tagbilaran Bay that he calls “an environmental disaster,” hence his letter.

  But in his response, Lim said he has not been sleeping on the job. He took Aumentado’s move as “meddling” in the affairs of the city.

  He said Aumentado should instead focus on constructing the Panglao Airport – conceptualized when the governor was still a congressman. Lim said the project has not  taken off until now that Aumentado is on his third term as governor.

  In contrast, he said, the WTF – talked about only some three years ago – will be finished ahead of the airport.

  Aumentado preferred not to be belligerent.

  He thanked Lim for already taking seriously the WTF concern, adding that it is expected to be finished ahead because it requires a shorter gestation period than the airport.

  He thanked the mayor further because then, Tagbilaran will be up to the wastewater treatment requirements of a growing city, and the unnatural population boom expected from the influx of tourists, visitors and investors brought about by international and domestic flights – and even by budget airlines attracted to Bohol’s potentials.

  Aumentado is confident that civil works for the airport will start between July and October this year. It will be financed solely by local funds – no loans or Official Development Assistance (ODA) – hence, canceling the need for a loan application process.

  The airport will also be constructed in two phases – and the current phase in two packages undertaken simultaneously, to boot – to cut on the working days requirement.

  Plus, he said, the runway will now be asphalt-paved like European and some US airports instead of being concreted as the latter would be too abrasive for the planes’ wheels. This will cut construction time as the period for curing or seasoning of the concrete will already be deleted.

  At the same time, he challenged those in the same situation as he to similarly resign if they cannot make good their promises to the public.

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