By Manny Pinol
After being mothballed for almost four years, the M’lang Rural Airport or Central Mindanao Airport will finally undergo final works to complete the biggest infrastructure project initiated by the province of North Cotabato.
The construction company which won the bidding for the completion of the project, Lao Construction of Davao City, has already deployed its equipment in the project area in Barangay Tawantawan, M’lang.
The project which was initiated by the Provincial Government of North Cotabato when I was Governor in 2004 was partially completed in 2009 with the construction of the 1.2-kilometer concrete runway and the terminal building.
The second phase of the project will include the extension of the runway to 1.8 kilometers to allow medium-sized commercial aircraft to land, the control tower and the fire station.
The airport which had a soft opening in 2009 with former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as guest of honor has been mothballed since 2009 because it became a victim of political vindictiveness.
Shortly after she assumed as Governor of North Cotabato in 2010, the incumbent provincial governor declared that she will not pursue the completion of the airport because its construction was sub-standard.
She also proceeded to accuse me of embezzling the funds intended for the project which caused its delay.
Last night, during a chance meeting with District 2 Representative Nancy Catamco, who along with District 1 Cong. Jesus N. Sacdalan, followed up the release of an additional P154-M for the airport, I explained that funds intended for project were directly released to the Dept. of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) and not to the provincial government which was under me at the time.
The project which I dreamed of since I was Mayor of M’lang started with the purchase of 62 hectares of land from the estate of Don Tomas Buenaflor in Barangay Tawantawan.
Following the acquisition, then Senator John Osmena released an initial P5-M for the clearing and the fencing of the area.
After that, I was able to get an initial development fund of P30-M from the Dept. of Energy through Sec. Vince Perez with the help of then PNOC-EDC President Paul Aquino, father of senator-elect Bam Aquino. This was directly released to the DOTC.
An additional P100-M which was allocated for the project through the help of then Cong. Jun Pinol and Sen. Richard Gordon was also released to the DOTC and conducted the bidding for the construction work.
I told Cong. Catamco last night that the accusation that I embezzled the money for the airport was a big fat lie because the funds were never transferred to the provincial treasurer’s office but directly to DOTC.
Last week, Cong. Catamco invited the members of the Buenaflor and Cuerpo families, descendants of Don Tomas Buenaflor, to a meeting in Kidapawan City along with Mayor Lito Pinol.
Everybody who attended the meeting agreed that the project should be pursued and completed.
The Sangguniang Bayan of M’lang under Vice Mayor Russel Abonado also passed a resolution requiring the contractor to submit the list of workers needed in the project which in turn will be submitted to the Public Employment Services Office of the town.
The PESO will be tasked to screen the workers so that the job opportunities will be fairly offered to qualified applicants.
Earlier this week, in a surprise move, the incumbent Governor passed an executive order creating a monitoring team which she headed with District 3 Congressman-election Jose Tejada as vice chairman reportedly to “monitor the implementation of the project.”
The Governor’s surprise move came just a few weeks after she made a public pronouncement over local radio stations saying that the airport project will not be prioritized because of “land ownership and other problems.”
The dramatic turn-around of the Governor came after former DOTC Sec. Mar Roxas, now DILG Secretary, reportedly issued a warning for the officials of North Cotabato to “get their acts together” or else the funding for the M’lang Airport will be transferred to other airport projects in Mindanao.
I told Cong. Catamco last night that while the project is very much identified with Gov. Manny Pinol, the M’lang Airport was not intended to glorify me and I do not crave for credit.
What I have always dreamed of is the completion of this major infrastructure project which will spur the economic development of the province, facilitate travel and transport of products and provide employment for the people.
For me, the latest development is a vindication of sorts following the vilification and malevolent accusations that I suffered in pursuing the dream of an airport in the Province of North Cotabato.
(Photo caption: This Ultra-Light plane piloted by Capt. Rey Acosta made history as the first aircraft to land in the M’lang Airport. The young girl in the aircraft, a descendant of Don Tomas Buenaflor, also made history as the first passenger to fly from the airport. Photo taken Feb. 16 during the “Tulabong” Festival.)
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