COTABATO CITY — It will take about nine more weeks for commercial flights to resume in this city, the Bangsamoro region’s Ministry of Transportation and Communications determined last Tuesday after inspecting ongoing airport repairs.
Lawyer Paisalin Pangandaman Tago was among the members of the Bangsamoro parliament who expressed dismay over the slow pace of the runway repairs done by the Koronadal City-based construction company contracted by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP). “We are urging the contractor of this runway repair to work faster,” he said.
Since the airport was shut down in the last week of June, all travelers and goods in and out of the city have to be transported by land or diverted to the airports in General Santos and Davao Cities.
Yesterday, Harold Dimacisil Torres who chairs the Bangsamoro Business Council voiced out hopes that commercial flights connecting the city to other parts of the country could resume much sooner to help Central Mindanao’s economy bounce back. — John Felix M. Unson
