Two senators took the cudgels for erstwhile backwater destinations down south in eastern Mindanao when they argued for funding to upgrade its small airport and usher in wider recognition and interest to its water bodies described as untapped world-class destinations.
A communication dispatch from the Office of Senator Lawrence Christopher ‘Bong’ Go said the senator from Davao City called for support to allocated funds to the airport in Mati City, the capital of Davao Oriental, now increasingly known for its open seven-kilometer white sand beach and where three water bodies around this Pacific Ocean-side city have been listed in the in the Most Beautiful Bays in the World.
Go said he was manifesting in the recent Senate hearing to allocate funds to develop the Mati Airport through the proposed 2026 budget of the Department of Transportation (DOTr). The hearing was held Monday.
He has urged the national government to continue current development works at the airport that were initiated last year to make it operational on its target date of November this year.
‘Transportation has always been the backbone of our economy,’ citing this and other infrastructure projects that were started during the previous administration that he said must be continued.
He said former DOTr Secretary Arthur Tugade completed and enhanced aviation infrastructure across the country. ‘The DOTr, led by Sec. Tugade, constructed new airports and improved existing ones. They were able to complete more than two hundred airports including those in Albay, Legaspi, Clark International Airport, Bohol-Panglaw and Mactan-Cebu International Airport.’
How does this Mati Airport be made operational? He said the project was supported by Sen. JV Ejercito to help decongest the Davao Airport and improve tourism.
Sen. Loren Legarda supported Go’s call as she emphasized that ‘leaving runways idle wastes existing infrastructure and even leads to safety issues, such as animals straying onto airstrips’. She said she has supported the move to secure funds to make Mati Airport and similar facilities and make them operational.
Early this year, Mati Mayor Michelle Nakpil Rabat announced that ‘collaborative efforts’ with the Department of Transportation, contractors, and local government officials would accelerate the development of the Mati Airport to be finally opened next month.
She said the 1,628 meter-long airstrip was once called Imelda Marcos Airport when it was constructed and operated in the 1980’s and later renamed Mati Airport. ‘This will be back on tract after a long lull and will operate beginning in November this year,’ she said.
The DOTr and the provincial government also jointly announced that they will sign an agreement that time on the expansion and development of the airport runway, and that the approved construction scope of the DOTr includes the terminal, fire station, and parking area. Contractors O.G. Santos Construction and Rakki Corporation reaffirmed their commitment to delivering the project on schedule.
Engr. Zenaida Loon, head of the Office of the Building Official (OBO), will oversee the electric plan and coordinate with Davao Oriental Electric Cooperative (Doreco). Joseph Progatorio, head of the City Planning and Development Office (CPDO), will handle the zoning requirements to ensure the project’s seamless integration into the city’s master plan.
They also disclosed that expansion works has a budget of P90 million, to be taken from the P100 million budget previously secured in 2019 by former Tourism Secretary Wanda Tulfo-Teo and her brother, Congressman Erwin Tulfo. This money jumpstarted the airport development, the information office said, although it was halted when the Covid 19-pandemic set in the following year.
Mati City boasts of untapped natural wonders like the seven-kilometer white-sand Dahican Beach fronting the Pacific Ocean, the tranquil and marine-resource rich Pujada Bay and the Unesco
Heritage site Mount Hamiguitan. Also just around its corners are its three water bodies, including Pujada, which were listed in the Most Beautiful Bays in the World by the MBBW Association.
Outside Mati City is Pusan Point in Caraga town, which was marked as the site of the first millennium sunrise in the Philippines.