Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia yesterday said Philippine Airlines president Lucio Tan has stated that he still wants the old Bacolod Airport reopened and assured them he is willing to spend for the expenses it will require.

“That, for me, is a very positive development. At the same time I informed him of our plan,” he said.

Leonardia said he was with Tan, together with Rodolfo Alvarez, Charlie Hagad and Lucy Ponce in Manila yesterday, in a meeting that lasted for about three hours.

He said they also met with the Air Transportation Office committee created through Executive Order No. 6208 dated Jan. 23, 2008 , to study and recommend for the proposed reopening of the old Bacolod Airport .

Present at the meeting were ATO executive director Daniel Dimagiba, vice chairman Inocencio Incierto and Danilo Abareta, Cesar Calingasan and Charlemagne Gilo, he said.

Leonardia said they presented to the committee their case and made sure they would see it, not only from the technical point of view, but at the same time see the social and economic dimensions of the reopening.

“For example, we told them that this is being supported by an overwhelming majority of the people in Bacolod and in the rest of Negros Occidental,” he said.

He said they requested the committee to have an open mind and whatever input they feed will be part of the process to evaluate. “They told us that, before a final recommendation is made, they will sit down with us first,” he added.

Leonardia said they feel that they had made their position very clear during the meeting with ATO which lasted for one and a half hour. They were also assured that the runway lights and equipment are in Bacolod only for storage and safekeeping, he said.

Leonardia said he was also able to talk to PAL Bacolod manager Job Lamela about the plans to fence off the PAL property and he was told it is standard operating procedure for them.

He said he also requested Lamela that in case their head office becomes serious and wants to implement it, they be consulted. He also pointed out that, if at all they have to construct a fence around the property they have to get a building permit first.

Leonardia said he has asked Bacolod police director Senior Supt. Ronilo Quebrar to go to PAL and he was told that PAL's concern was the squatters.

“We assured them that our police force will be there anytime there is a threat of squatting,” he said.*CGS

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