Rey Anthony Chiu

Civil works at the Tagbilaran City Airport is expected to be finished last week of July or the first week of August, Governor Edgar Chatto said Friday. The announcement came as a welcome relief after passengers and tourists passing through the facility complained of inconvenience as the construction work progressed and services were hampered. Works at the rehabilitated Tagbilaran City Airport include the additional second floor pre-departure area, the transfer of airline ticketing offices to free more space on the second floor, the widening of the ground floor passenger lounge and other related development. Chatto told Boholanos during his weekly radio program aired all over Bohol that the rehabilitation would put up a combined 570 seats in the departure areas on the first and second floors.

The P37 million project is the government’s response through the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) to provide necessary measure to serve the tourist island province while the new Panglao Bohol Airport is still on the implementation process. From the inconvenience of the civil works in the construction however sprout complaints from tourists and riding public about the stifling heat while awaiting out-bound flights. On this, the local government spun into action by urging CAAP through Aerodrome Development and Management Service (ADMS) for the installation of additional air-conditioning units and the necessary support infrastructure to get them working. The governor, who admitted he has to step into the problem to know the real score of the work just as Bohol ended a month-long fiesta with homecoming Boholanos and tourists going through the hot lounge ordeal.

Trying to get the assurances from the airport authorities, Chatto said CAAP has already purchased the air-conditioning unit but due to its size and capacity, a separate power transformer is needed to the cooling equipment running. Unluckily, Chatto said the there is no local supplier for such a transformer and it has to be sourced out from Manila. To this Chatto added that as per government procurement and bidding procedures, a process has to be followed before the installation could be done. By the end of July or the first week of August, the facility will be fully operational, he assured.