TACLOBAN CITY- Even Leyte Governor Leopoldo Dominico Petilla, an administration ally, expressed his doubts whether the purported transfer of the Daniel Z. Romualdez (DZR) Airport would materialize any time soon.
Petilla, who chairs the Regional Development Council, said that the possible transfer of the region’s premier airport needs some studies. The Japan International Corporation Agency (JICA) is leading a study on this undertaking upon the request of the Office of the Presidential Assistant on Recovery and Rehabilitation (OPARR). The study alone will take about two years, Petilla said. “It will take several years from now probably more than a decade to construct an airport because of the process and we will also be using safety measures so that the safety of passengers will not be at risk”, Petilla said.
Petilla also denied that planned transfer of the DZR Airport is politically motivated but rather to provide the public safer and better service. The DZR airport is currently located at San Jose, where it is one of the most affected area during the onslaught of typhoon Yolanda in the region, and is planned to be transferred somewhere in Palo and Sta. Fe areas. (KAYE ANNE B. ORALLER, LNU Intern)
