Calls for a new international airport in northern Cebu have sparked a war of words between Governor Pamela Baricuatro and Fifth District Representative Duke Frasco.
Baricuatro dismissed Frasco’s proposal to build an international airport in Sogod as “ridiculous,” saying the province has yet to finish and pay for the airport project in Camotes.
“Maghimo na sab siya’g airport sa Sogod? Wa pa gani to nahuman ang Camotes, daghan pa kaayo’g problema, naa pay wa nabayran nga airport dira sa Camotes, nya maghimo na sab siya sa Sogod? Ridiculous,” the governor said.
Frasco, however, defended his plan, arguing that Cebu urgently needs a backup to the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) in case a disaster renders it inoperable.
He said the recent earthquake exposed how vulnerable Cebu would be if its only airport were to shut down.
“For example, if the epicenter of the recent quake had been in Mactan, we would have lost our airport. How could we get planes to land? How would we receive the help and aid we need if we don’t have this airport? That’s why every major city, like Cebu City, should have a secondary airport,” Frasco said in an earlier interview.
Frasco also accused Baricuatro of dismissing the idea out of political bias.
“The Governor of Cebu’s reaction calling the idea of a secondary international airport for Cebu ‘ridiculous’ without even studying the proposal is expected from someone whose mindset is limited by politics rather than vision,” he said.
