
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s swift yet effective decision-making has set in motion the resumption of mothballed major government projects that could ultimately benefit Filipinos, Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Vince Dizon announced on Tuesday.
Dizon was referring to the construction of the new passenger terminal building (PTB) at Godofredo P. Ramos Airport in Caticlan, Aklan, and the drilling of the Malampaya gas field to check possible gas reserves off the coast of Palawan.
President Marcos led the groundbreaking ceremony of the PTB, after which he made a flyby at the Malampaya in Palawan.
The DOTr secretary said the Malampaya exploration and the Caticlan airport projects have been on the back burner for years and have not received much attention from previous administrations.
“Ang importante ngayon ay nagdesisyon ang Pangulo. Sinabi ng Pangulo ‘Tapusin na ‘yan para sa kapakanan ng ating mga kababayan’, sa electricity at ngayon dito sa Boracay-Caticlan,” Dizon said.
“I think it’s the President’s decisiveness, his boldness, and his quick actions to finally put things into motion, and ang Caticlan ay matatapos na sa 2027, ang bagong terminal,” Dizon said.
On Monday, President Marcos led the groundbreaking ceremony for the new PTB of the Godofredo P. Ramos Airport in Caticlan, Aklan, and visited the Malampaya gas field to inspect the drilling ship currently exploring possible gas reserves off Palawan.
The construction of the PhP2.5-billion PTB will be implemented by San Miguel Corp. (SMC) through its subsidiary Trans Aire Development Holdings Corp., in partnership with the Department of Transportation (DOTr).
The new terminal is designed to handle up to seven million passengers annually and will replace the existing facility.
Once operational, the government expects to open up the Philippines to more global investors and international tourists by providing direct international access to key destinations beyond Manila.
As to the Malampaya drilling, Department of Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said experts will determine within the year if there is a gas reserve, as well as the pressure, particularly in the Camago and Malampaya East wells.
“This provides energy also to the country and its indigenous. Kahit maggiyera man kung saan-saan na part ng mundo eh safe tayo. Mapuproteksiyunan natin kasi atin iyon, and the prices we can maintain and the supply we can maintain,” Garin said, referring to the importance of the Malampaya exploration.
Malampaya was awarded in 1989 and started operation in 2001. Operating for the past 23 years, the gas field initially supplied 40 percent of Luzon’s energy requirement.
It is now down to 20 percent as a result of a much-reduced reserve. | PND