House panel approves measure directing gov’t to decongest Mindanao airports

MANILA, Philippines — The House panel on Mindanao Affairs on Tuesday approved a measure directing the government’s transportation sector to present its plan to decongest Mindanao airports.

In a meeting on Tuesday, the House committee approved House Resolution No. 728, which seeks to direct the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) and the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to present the operational status and decongestion plan of all airports in Mindanao.

In the resolution, Lanao del Norte 1st District Rep. Mohamad Khalid Dimaporo noted that the three major airport hubs in the region were “operating over their intended capacity.”

These airports were Davao International Airport, Laguindingan Airport, and Zamboanga City Airport.

“With the completion of other airports in Mindanao, there is a need to study ways of complementing these major regional hubs,” Dimaporo said.

“It is important for the CAAP and DOTr to resolve the issues of operating beyond the capacity of these major airports in Mindanao, and to implement plans of decongesting the aforesaid major airport hubs,” he added.