by Gerry Lee Gorit
MISAMIS ORIENTAL – Board Member Gerardo “Boboy” Sabal III has confirmed in yesterday’s interview that based on the revelation of the airport manager, the overnight parking at Laguindingan Airport is earning, more or less, P14 Million every year.
The Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Misamis Oriental has invited Airport Area Manager Engr. Job B. De Jesus to shed light on the recent clamor of airport users that they can no longer park their vehicles, considering that the parking area has been crowded with overnight parking clients of the airport.
Sabal said the parking area is only good for 160 vehicles and since they were already occupied by other users who stayed in Manila and other areas for weeks and they just parked their vehicles at the airport.
“And so they’ll get their vehicles after they go back to our place. And this has already become a problem now because regular users of the airport can no longer park their vehicles, especially when they are at the airport to pick up their relatives who just arrived, or when they are there to send off their passengers who have scheduled flights to Manila.” Sabal explained in vernacular.
The board member said since the airport was a CAAP-managed project of the national government, the province has not received any centavo from the overnight parking earnings.
But Sabal said the airport manager during the regular session has promised to find a better solution to this worsening problem at the airport.
“Nagsaad naman ang airport manager nga sa second quarter of this year iya kining pangitaan ug solusyon while dili pa kaayo dako ang problema,” Sabal said.
Meanwhile, Liga ng mga Barangay ABC President Robert “Bobet” de Lara also added that this issue should be addressed properly by the CAAP management so that every user of the airport is given comfortable accommodation especially when parking their private vehicles at the proper parking areas of the airport.
De Lara said that since the Laguindingan domestic airport is designed to become an international airport a few years from now, CAAP management should inculcate the development of the parking area in the overall design of the expansion.
“In this way, we can solve the parking problem that we are now experiencing at the airport,” he claimed.
The Liga ng mga Barangay also said that while Laguindingan is still a domestic airport, parking problems have already become an issue. “How much more if we already have an international airport, wherein bigger planes are landing there? So I believe, including this parking in the general design plan of the expansion, will definitely solve the current problem encountered by airport users.”
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Board member Sabal said he will give a recommendation report to Governor Peter M. Unabia so that this issue about overnight parking at Laguindingan Airport will be addressed properly.
“Maghatag kitag recommendation report ngadto sa Governor para iyang masayran ang maong problema sa airport. I’m sure the governor will also recommend a better solution to this issue,” he said.
