The Bangsamoro Government Center in Cotabato City. (Photo from the Facebook page of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao)
COTABATO CITY, Maguindanao del Norte, Philippines — The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) has transferred the management of six airports in Mindanao to the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
According to a CAAP statement on Wednesday, the six airports are:
- Awang Airport in Maguindanao del Norte
- Wao Airport and Malabang Airport in Lanao del Sur
- Sanga-Sanga Airport and Mapun Airstrip in Tawi-Tawi
- Jolo Airport in Sulu
The turnover ceremony was held on Wednesday. It was Brig. Gen. Dionisio Robles, chief of the Intelligence and Investigation Division Acting of CAAP, and Bangsamoro Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim.
The transfer was made possible by a memorandum of agreement made on Sept. 20, 2022, between CAAP and the BARMM Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC).
The memo facilitated the implementation of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL), which establishes the BARMM.
The MOTC will now officially handle the land side management of the airport, which includes the operation and management of the airport’s passenger terminal building, administrative building, and vehicular parking area, among others.
CAAP will retain the air side management — air traffic control tower and air navigation equipment and facilities — of the airports.