Only 1% vs. Panglao airport

Only 1% was braved enough to register its opposition to the Panglao International Airport with a whooping 99% saying yes to the same project. Translated into the lowest terms, this means that Boholanos in the first district stood as one behind the planned airport in Panglao. The town is in Bohol 's first district. This reality forms part of the results of the survey that the Bohol Provincial Government under Gov. Erico Aumentado commissioned the Holy Name University Research Center (HNU-RC) to do.

Aumentado expressed elation over the survey results. With the project acceptable to the people, he felt assured that he has been leading Bohol in the right direction. To start the ball rolling, the Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA) of the Department of Tourism has had its marching orders from President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo: to release the P110 million that the PTA board earlier allocated for the lot purchase. The presidential instructions came after Aumentado suggested it through his urgent aide memoire for her on March 14 – during the state visit here of New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark. Both heads of state had bilateral talks at the Bohol Beach Club in the resort town of Panglao .

The Department of Transportation and Communications (DoTC) has also released P25,000 for the purpose, Assistant Sec. Jose Torralba earlier announced. The survey results said of those residing in Tagbilaran City , a good 92% are aware of the project and all of them agree to have it built. No one was undecided and no one disagreed. The rest of the 1st district residents posted 69% awareness. Of these, 98% agree to have it built. Only two percent were undecided. Nobody disagreed. As a whole, 74% of District 1 residents said they are aware of the Panglao International Airport Development Project (PIADP); 99% agreed to have it built, only 1% were undecided and nobody disagreed. These are among the Boholanos' sentiments on key areas asked by the HNU-RC in the Bohol Poll 2006 that ran from April 1-21.

HNU-RC had polled 100 residents of Tagbilaran City and another 100 residents representing the balance of the 1st District – where the international airport belongs. The district is comprised of 14 towns and Tagbilaran City . The research center staff trained under the Social Weather Stations (SWS) that actively supervised them during the first two rounds of the polls. The supervision covered the framing of the questions, the actual opinion taking, and recording and analyzing the results. Of the 85% urban area residents in the district who were aware of the project, 100% agreed to have it built. Rural area residents posted a 68%-awareness. Of this, 98% agreed to have the airport built, two percent were undecided but nobody disagreed. HNU also classified the interviewees by economic class, sex and age groups.

Awareness of the international airport project in the Class ABC group stood at 90% and in the Class D or middle-income earners, 69%. All of them agreed to have the airport built. The Class E or low-income earners posted a 72%-awareness of the project of whom 96% agreed to have it built. Four percent were undecided; nobody disagreed. Sex of the respondents was predetermined: the male-female ratio stands at 50-50. Of the 76% of the males aware of the project, all agreed to have it built; nobody disagreed. The females posted a slightly lower awareness at 72%. Of these, 97% agreed to have the international airport built. Three percent were undecided; nobody disagreed.

Awareness of the project among 18-24-year-olds stood at 82%, a high 96% among 24-34-year olds and 73% among the 35-44-year-olds. All these age brackets posted a 100% agreement to building the international airport. The 45-years-and-above age group posted a 63-percent awareness, with 96% of them agreeing to have the airport built. Four percent were undecided; nobody disagreed.

l