By Gail Momblan/Philippine News Agency
ILOILO CITY — House of Representatives Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has congratulated the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) for securing a signature from the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to proceed with the needed expansion of the Iloilo International Airport.
Arroyo, who was in Iloilo province for a blessing and inauguration of a hotel on Thursday afternoon, said securing a signature from the DILG is a crucial step for the proposal to be forwarded to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).
“The CAAP hopes that the DILG can sign in order for the proposal to be sent to the NEDA for approval,” Arroyo said in her speech at the hotel opening in Napnud village, Leganes town.
The CAAP and the departments of transportation, labor, and justice have already signed the Board Resolution granting the Original Proponent Status (OPS) to the unsolicited proponent for the expansion of the Iloilo airport.
“With the signing of the CAAP Board Resolution granting the Original Proponent Status to the unsolicited proponent for the expansion of the Iloilo airport, the CAAP may now proceed, subject the proposal to a Swiss Challenge. It is one step closer to bringing comfort, safety, and convenience to one of the busiest airports in the country. Again my congratulations to CAAP,” she said.
Arroyo had previously conducted an oversight hearing at the House on the status of the Iloilo airport to determine what expansion projects were needed. This led to the fast-tracking of the signing of the board resolution for the airport expansion.
The Iloilo International Airport in Cabatuan, Iloilo, which began operations in 2007, was among Arroyo’s priority projects when she was president from 2001 to 2010.
She stressed the need for its expansion since after more than a decade, the capacity has increased from 1.2 million to 2.4 million passengers a year.
Meanwhile, as she intends to retire in politics in June, Arroyo said her stint as House Speaker is about giving support to President Rodrigo Duterte
“As the Speaker, my legacy is not my own legacy. My job is to help the legacy of President Duterte,” she said in an earlier interview at the Iloilo International Airport.
The legacy she is leaving in politics is the legacy when she was president, she said.
Lifting the country from the “storm of financial crisis” to fiscal stability, among others, is what Arroyo took pride of.
“The fiscal stability was the one which enabled us to build fiscal structures, including the Iloilo airport, the road to Iloilo City, and also brought down our poverty rate from 39 percent when I started to 26 percent when I ended,” she said.
When asked about her plans after she exits politics, Arroyo said she will write her memoirs.
For the latest updates about this story, visit the Philippine News Agency website
