‘Legacy project’: Senators back San Miguel’s franchise to build new airport in Bulacan

MANILA, Philippines — Several senators backed the franchise bid of a subsidiary of San Miguel Corporation (SMC) which will allow them to build and operate a domestic and international airport in Bulacan.

In the Senate public services committee hearing, Senate Majority Floor Leader Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri, who is the author of Senate Bill No. 1823 which seeks to “construct, develop, establish, operate and maintain” the proposed “New Manila International Airport” by San Miguel Aerocity Inc., said that the proposed gateway is a “legacy project.”

The proposed airport, which is eyed to be built in the coastal areas of Bulakan town in Bulacan, is expected to decongest the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) and support growth and development in Central Luzon.

“This should have been built four years ago. I do not understand why we have not started this project four years ago when this could have been no cost to the government,” Zubiri said.

“This was a proposal given by well-meaning individuals for the good and greatness of our country,” he added. “Reputable developers who will stake their owner and their assets to it. Imagine that, the sacrifice that they will do. And of course, they will take to bring a legacy project.”

Senator Richard Gordon, likewise, shared Zubiri’s sentiments.

“It is a statement that will make heads turn, there’s no investment by the national government. No sovereign guarantee to accompany it and it can only be a lightning rod to create a business, to thrive in not only Metro Manila but also in Bulacan, in Pampanga, in Nueva Ecija especially which is largely agricultural and certainly all the way up to the North,” Gordon said.

Senator Joel Villanueva, who hails from Bulacan, couldn’t hide his excitement about the project.

“If there is one person in the Senate who is so excited about this project, it would be this representation. We have been waiting for this for so long, this is a dream come true project,” he said.

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, meanwhile, said that it was high time that a new airport should be built since there is “no debate” that NAIA, which serves as the country’s main gateway, is already “super congested.”

“It’s no debate that NAIA is super congested; it’s no debate that NAIA is not built to handle more passengers,” he said.

“So it’s really about time to build a new airport. And I want to express my full support on this measure, full support on this new airport,” he added.

And Senator Christopher “Bong” Go said that the airport will “go a long way towards providing jobs and other economic opportunities outside of Manila.”

“As I have stated in the past, the time has come to promote the dispersal of economic opportunities outside of Manila,” Go said.

“This is a prime example of how to best go about achieving this goal,” he added.

Batangas racetrack company gets Senate panel OK

Aside from the airport, the Senate panel also scrutinized 10 other companies that were applying for a fresh franchise.

The ten other companies whose franchise bids were tackled were of Cruz Telephone Company, Inc.; Tandag Electric and Telephone Company, Inc.; FBS Radio Network; Century Communications Marketing Center, Inc.; Bayan Telecommunications, Inc.; Caceres Broadcasting Corporation; Philippine Collective Media Corporation; Negros Broadcasting and Publishing Corporation; Davao Light and Power Company; and Metro Manila Turf Club Inc.

The franchise of the Metro Manila Turf Club Inc., which operates a racetrack for horse racing in Batangas, was deemed approved after Senate panel members expressed support for the franchise bid.

Meanwhile, Senator Grace Poe, who chairs the Senate panel, said that the committee is waiting for documents from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Securities and Exchange Commission on the compliance of the companies that were seeking a franchise.

“When they are found compliant, we will submit our committee report,” Poe said.

Poe scores BIR

But during the hearing, Poe expressed her disappointment with the BIR after several senators called out the bureau for its absence in assessing the compliance of the applicants for their franchise terms.

“I’m really disappointed because they always come to our hearings unprepared or sending even the wrong representative,” Poe told BIR representative Atty. Ralbert John Neil Tibayan.

“I don’t understand why you are doing the crosschecking only now. If for some reason, we pass these franchises and then you start running to us and telling us that you are mistaken, then that’s your loss,” she added.

Poe also said that she was not going “to sabotage the opportunities, the jobs for our countrymen because the government agencies are inefficient.”

JE