By Vanne Elaine Terrazola and Mario Casayuran
The Senate Committee on Public Services approved on Wednesday the bill that would allow the construction and operation of a P735-billion domestic and international airport in Bulacan.
Senators were supportive of the San Miguel Aerocity Inc.'s application for a franchise for the construction of the new Manila International Airport (MIA), a 2,500-hectare development in Bulacan, Bulacan.
The bill, whose counterpart was recently approved by the House of Representatives, would grant the company a congressional permit effective for 50 years.
San Miguel Aerocity, Inc. is a subsidiary of San Miguel Corporation (SMC) which has committed to establish the airport at no cost to the government.
"This project has so many benefits to our country, one of which is our country will not spend a single dime on building this airport...I can see that this project will bring tremendous benefits to Bulacan, to Region 3, and also to Northern Manila. This will bring job opportunities and, most of all, convenience to all of us," Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said during the hearing led by public services panel chairperson Senator Grace Poe.
"This was a proposal given by well-meaning individuals for the good and greatness of our country, reputable developers who will stake their assets and we can imagine the sacrifice that they will do," Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri agreed.
Senator Joel Villanueva, who hails from Bulacan, said he is also "excited" about the project.
"We have been waiting for this for so long. This is a dream-come-true project...We'll be able to produce at least a million jobs. We're not even talking about indirect jobs, ang laki talaga ng maitutulong nito sa bayan (this will be a big help to our country)," Villanueva said.
Senator Richard Gordon, for his part, said the airport will also help decongest Metro Manila and create a "bigger economic footprint" as he expected businesses to move near it.
In its presentation to the Senate committee, San Miguel officials said the airport will have "world-class" facilities which include at least four runways to serve bigger aircraft and a "state-of-the-art" terminal building. International engineering firms, including one tapped to build Singapore's Changi Airport, will assist in its construction and development, it said.
It expects to accommodate 100 million passengers yearly once fully operational. Air travel costs will also be cheaper, the SMC committed.
Groups, however, urged lawmakers to consider the airport project's impacts to environment and food security. They also asked SMC to consult residents who would be displaced by the development.
Villanueva also raised the concerns of Bulacan residents that the project will worsen flooding in their communities.
The SMC assured that the concerns of the stakeholders will be considered and addressed when it starts building the airport.
"The hearing has been adjourned as the members of the Committee are supportive and many have recognized the benefits of this new project," Poe said in a text message following the hybrid hearing.
Senator Christopher “Bong” Go also expressed his support for the construction of the airport but aired his concerns regarding the proponents compliance with applicable laws, rules and regulations.
“As pointed out by our fellow Senators Villanueva and Gatchalian, who know very well of the desires of the people of Bulacan and its neighboring provinces, this will go a long way towards providing jobs and other economic opportunities outside of Manila,” he added.
Go pointed out that the construction of the new airport would be a prime example in promoting the distribution of economic opportunities outside of the metropolis.
In the past, Go said Bulacan and the rest of Central Luzon would benefit from various development projects, particularly under the Duterte administration’s “Build, Build, Build” (BBB) infrastructure program.
At present, the national government is undertaking a project for the extension of the Philippine National Railway (PNR) service from Tutuban in Manila, traversing Malolos, Bulacan, and up to Pampanga.
There is also the Arterial Road Bypass Project-Phase 2, inaugurated in 2018, meant to link NLEX in Balagtas, Bulacan with the Philippine-Japan Friendship Highway, also called Maharlika Highway, in San Rafael, Bulacan.