We cannot imagine the reaction of Gov. Erico Aumentado when confronted with the recommendation made by Provincial Environmental Officer (PENRO) Arius Ilano Sr. to DENR Secretary Angelo Reyes on the proposed Panglao Airport Project. In his letter to the DENR Secretary, the subject of which was Requesting Reconsideration to the Implementation of Memorandum Order No.178 Establishing the Panglao Special Infrastructure Program, it was clear that Ilano of all people is not one who is keen at pushing the Panglao airport project. Imagine the position of Ilano now that the project is about to talk off. From Gov. Aumentado to the three congressmen in collaboration with the private sector are all agog about the project. And here comes Ilano requesting reconsideration that it will not be implemented?

A perusal of the Ilano treatise re: the Panglao project will readily show that he was not acting alone in torpedoing the wishes of Bohol leaders to prosecute the project to its logical end. What comes to mind if the project is mothballed for good is that all officials involved in having the project implemented is that they should put all their acts together. Short of this will spell doom to Bohol 's biggest infrastructure undertaking.

By the way, why is Ilano hiding under the skirt of vacillation in dealing with the airport project. In the first place, was he not convinced by the assurance made by Rica Bueno, chief of the Community Tourism Development Division of the Department of Tourism that inputs on the project are the results of various technical studies commissioned by concerned agencies and conducted by experts in their respective fields, carefully taking into consideration the costs and benefits of developing a tourism area. The same inputs were shared by Claudio Altura, chair and CEO of TCGI Engineers, consultant in the preparation of the Panglao Airport in a letter to Rep. Edgar Chatto, chair of the House committee on tourism.

It would also interest Mr. Ilano that Bohol Poll 2005 conducted on April 1-17 by the Holy Name University Research Center showed that 81 percent of the residents of Tagbilaran City are aware of the Panglao Airport Development Project. Unless, Mr. Ilano was intimidated into adopting this position of the planned Panglao airport project, we cannot think of any other reason why he espoused this kind of tack.