Review Sangley airport project, Congress urged

MANILA, Philippine — An infrastructure-oriented think tank called on Congress on Tuesday to review Cavite’s ongoing Sangley Point International Airport project to determine whether no conflicts exist with national agencies undertaking President Rodrigo Duterte’s Build, Build, Build program.

InfraWatch PH, in a statement, said a review was called for especially after the President vowed to ban until the end of his term all reclamation projects in the Manila Bay area except those connected with government projects.

Questions

“There are some questions on whether provincial governments can undertake airport development projects as these initiatives are done by the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines,” lawyer Terry Ridon, InfraWatch convenor and former Kabataan party list representative, said.

“We have no question that local governments can undertake reclamation activities, but we are uncertain whether they can undertake airport development activities, most especially of this magnitude,” he added.

He pointed out that it is the DOTr that has jurisdiction and control over the country’s airports.

Ridon said the results of the bidding for the Sangley project  had raised red flags on the viability of the project, as only a single proponent submitted a proposal.