P 740-B SMC Bulacan airport gets 50-year franchise

MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives on Monday approved the 50-year franchise sought by a subsidiary of San Miguel Corp. to build and operate the P740-billion New Manila International Airport project in Bulacan.

House Bill No. 7507 was passed on third reading, only a month after the measure was filed by principal authors Bulacan Rep. Jose Antonio Sy-Alvarado and Dumper PTDA Rep. Claudine Bautista on Aug. 3.

The bill was approved in a 218-6 vote with two abstentions. It was approved on second reading on Sept. 1.

The speed of the bill’s approval prompted Gabriela Rep. Arlene Brosas, one of the lawmakers who voted no, to compare it to the case of media giant ABS-CBN, whose bid for a 25-year franchise was denied by the House legislative franchises committee on July 10.

Brosas said it was ridiculous that San Miguel Aerocity Inc. was granted a franchise by the House in such a short period, when ABS-CBN’s application took years only to be rejected at the committee level, putting 11,000 jobs at risk.