The Philippine Air Force (PAF) said Monday, July 11, that it has recently received a P72-million parking structure from the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) as part of the state firm’s replication program for the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
The three-storey facility covers a gross floor area of 4,311 square meters inside the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City. It has 106 regular parking slots and five additional slots for persons with disabilities (PWDs).
Lt. Gen. Connor Anthony Canlas Sr., PAF commanding general, expressed gratitude to the BCDA for facilitating the funding and construction of the parking facility. He noted that the facility provides a timely boost in the development of air base facilities for the PAF, which marked its 75th anniversary last July 1.
"The PAF under my leadership is committed to provide our personnel with the best facilities in order to successfully perform our mission. The completion of these facilities is a step towards being adaptable to the requirements of our core systems to optimize our air bases' capacity," he said.
Hedda Rulona, officer-in-charge of BCDA's Investment and Financial Management Group, who spoke on behalf of BCDA OIC President and Chief Executive Officer Atty. Aristotle B. Batuhan, said that the opportunity to keep building for the PAF is "exciting" for the state firm "as it supports our shared vision of continued modernization."
"We trust that this BCDA-funded parking facility will not just increase the Air Force's capacity to accommodate vehicles, but boost its operational capability towards defending the Filipino nation and responding to crises and disasters. I personally derive inspiration from engagements with BCDA’s biggest stakeholder, the AFP. It fuels the drive to keep building better and modernizing even more, contributing funding that will enable the purchase of air assets that will catapult our Air Force to be the best in the Southeast Asian region," Rulona said.
The facility will be managed and maintain by the PAF’s Air Installation and Base Development Command headed by its acting commander, Col. Antonio Francisco Jr.
In line with its mandate to strengthen the military under Republic Act 7227, the BCDA has contributed a total of P56.4 billion to the AFP. This year, the BCDA remitted P6.31 billion in AFP shares to the Bureau of the Treasury. This marked a 138-percent increase compared to the P2.64 billion contribution in 2021.
Through its replication program for the military, the BCDA has built facilities for the PAF in Villamor Air Base and other camps amounting to P896.44 million.
These include the PAF's General Hospital, Officers' Clubhouse, Aerospace Museum, Villamor Golf Course Driving Range and Auxiliary facilities, and airmen’s apartments at the Wallace Air Station in La Union.
The replication of more Air Force structures are in BCDA’s pipeline, including PAF facilities and utilities which occupy 313.4 hectares in the Clark Freeport Zone in Pampanga. This involves the P3-billion relocation of PAF community and housing facilities to a 65-hectare area in New Clark City, Tarlac.
Meanwhile, PAF operational facilities at the Freeport will be relocated to a 146.88-hectare site within the OMNI Aviation area, which is also in Clark, Pampanga. The preparation of the designs is ongoing.
During the recent ceremonial rites, the PAF also inaugurated its new administration building funded by the Department of National Defense - Department of Public Works and Highways (DND-DPWH) convergence program, "Tatag ng Imprastraktura para sa Kapayapaan at Seguridad", or TIKAS projects. It similarly inaugurated its new mobile kitchens donated by the Rotary International District 3820.