Senator Alan Peter Cayetano has urged the government to convert into a business park a portion the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) compound once the plan to put up airports in Bulacan and Cavite provinces pushes through.
Meanwhile, the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Philippines’ premier gateway, got a satisfactory approval from the United States —Transportation Security Administration (US-TSA) for its improved security measures.
Cayetano also proposed that one part of the business park should be named after the late President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. and the other portion after the martyred former Senator Ninoy Aquino Jr.
Having done the rechristening, Cayetano said businesses should compete there. “It’s now up to the public where they want to go.”
He believes his plan could help boost the national economic recovery instead of calling for a boycott.
Marcos and Aquino, the senator noted were both part of the country’s history.
The country’s premier airport was named after Aquino who was killed by an assassin’s bullets at the airport’s tarmac upon arrival from the United States.
There is a measure in Congress to name the airport after Marcos.
He appealed to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to build more parks, saying the public always go to malls while parks are good places to go to with family and friends.
Aside from being therapeutic and the health benefits, he said it is not costly to build parks.
For his part, Sen. Sonny Angara said there should be many open spaces for sports activities.
On the other hand, Senator Imee Marcos said building green landscapes should be included in the policies of the DPWH.
Replying to the suggestion of Cayetano, DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan said the establishment of parks is not included in the infrastructure projects of the administration.
But they will consider the proposals as a “paradigm shift.”
Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista made the announcement Friday following a meeting with US Embassy officials led by Ambassador MaryKay Loss Carlson who informed him of the satisfactory findings of the US-TSA on its recent security assessment of the Manila airport, as well as of local airlines flying to the US.
During the meeting, the US officials also offered Bautista assistance in different Philippine transport infrastructure projects.
Ambassador Carlson also discussed possible technical assistance for the successful development of the Mindanao Rail Project.
The assistance – to be coursed through the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) – would involve early stage project preparation and developing a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) structure to facilitate increased private sector investment and participation.
Carlson, accompanied by Mark Everson (Maritime Law Enforcement advisor), Robert Rouland (Transport Security Administration attache), John Avrett (of USAID) and Joseph Russo (of the US Embassy Manila), also offered to provide training assistance to the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) in the operational maintenance of PCG’s vessels.
Office for Transportation Security (OTS) administrator Undersecretary Ma.O Aplasca on Wednesday also visited US-TSA Attaché Robert Rouland and discussed the capacity development efforts for Philippine airport authorities in the next twelve months.
In July 2019, the US-TSA began outlining multiple sustainable security initiatives where the OTS was one of the beneficiaries, alongside the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA), under the umbrella of an airport partnership.
Aplasca assured his international counterpart of the agency’s commitment to ensure that stakeholders comply with set security standards.
He likewise took the opportunity to thank them for the capability and capacity assistance projects offered by the US government, which played a large part in the Philippines’ thrust towards the augmentation of security in vital transport hubs.
