Sangley Air Base alone won’t decongest NAIA: DOTr chief

“Alam n’yo ho (You know what) let us disabuse our mind, that the Sangley alone will, you know, decongest NAIA Terminal 1, 2, 3 and 4,” Tugade said in an interview over Radyo Pilipinas on Friday (June 14). (PNA Photo)

MANILA — Although he believes Sangley Air Base can be made open to commercial activity by the end of the year, Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade clarified that the former US naval facility in Cavite should not be considered as the only answer to ease congestion in the four terminals of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

“Alam n’yo ho (You know what) let us disabuse our mind, that the Sangley alone will, you know, decongest NAIA Terminal 1, 2, 3 and 4,” Tugade said in an interview over Radyo Pilipinas on Friday (June 14).

“To decongest NAIA 1, 2, 3, and 4, you have to have a basket of approaches and solutions to handle that,” he added.

Aside from Sangley, Tugade said his agency will also be looking at Clark Airport in Pampanga and the Bulacan Airport.

“Kaya nga bakit nandidiyan iyong Clark na kung saan iyong second terminal ay matatapos by the second quarter of next year at magiging operational) That is why there’s Clark, where its second terminal is expected to be completed by the second quarter of next year and will become operational),” Tugade said.

“Kaya nga nandidiyan iyong sinisipat natin iyong Bulacan Airport na inaasam-asam namin na magkaroon na ng tinatawag na Swiss challenge at ma-ground break before the end of this year (That’s why there’s the Bulacan Airport which we are looking forward to having the Swiss challenge so that we can break ground before the end of this year),” he added.

Tugade emphasized that there were various ways to decongest the four terminals of NAIA besides transferring domestic flights to Sangley Air Base.

“Ito ho ay samo’t-saring mga pamaraan upang ma-decongest ang Metro Manila at ang NAIA Terminal 1, 2, 3 and 4 (There are several ways to decongest Metro Manila and NAIA Terminal 1, 2, 3, and 4),” Tugade said.

Meanwhile, Tugade said his agency is currently working on completing a ferry station to transfer passengers from NAIA to Sangley but is also considering the use of Point-to-Point (P2P) buses.

“At habang ginagawa iyan, iyong plano po ng Department of Public Works na magkaroon ng connector’s road eh ginagawa ho iyan (And while they are making that, the plan of the Department of Public Works is to build a connector’s road),” Tugade said.

On June 11, President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the transfer of domestic flights from NAIA to Sangley Air Base by November.

Duterte also wanted airport security to be handled by a single entity, either from the military or civilian force to ensure passengers’ safety.