Background
Aviation, aeronautics is a United States Dollars Three Trillion (US$3,000,000,000,000) per annum industry[1], to which the Philippine aviation sector contributes only less than a fraction of one percent (1%) – and equivalent to 0.051% only the country – Republic of the Philippines’ Gross Domestic Product.
The entire Asian Region commands a thirty two percent (32%) share of these US$5 Trillion revenues. The question is whether, the Philippines, from hereon until 2030, can dramatically change its standing in the ratings of travel destinations and number of transiting passengers, as well as in revenues per mile of air traffic.
Obviously, something needs to be done and there is a real need to seriously attend to the concerns and problems inherent to as well as presently besetting air transport in the country.
The expertise and the infrastructure are already there and the needed links that can be brought into the equation are waiting to be made, cemented and made profit of. These just need to be started and made wholly productive and profitable to the Philippines.
Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) was privatized due in part to the master development plan to develop a privatized Air Traffic Services system in the Philippines and that included throwing the entire weight of the old Air Transportation Office (ATO) – representing the regulatory authority in civil aviation in the country – into the picture.
For that reason alone, CAAP became a privatized entity. However the objectives and goals forecast in such an event still need to be realized:
The entire Asian Region commands a thirty two percent (32%) share of these US$5 Trillion revenues. The question is whether, the Philippines, from hereon until 2030, can dramatically change its standing in the ratings of travel destinations and number of transiting passengers, as well as in revenues per mile of air traffic.
Obviously, something needs to be done and there is a real need to seriously attend to the concerns and problems inherent to as well as presently besetting air transport in the country.
The expertise and the infrastructure are already there and the needed links that can be brought into the equation are waiting to be made, cemented and made profit of. These just need to be started and made wholly productive and profitable to the Philippines.
Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) was privatized due in part to the master development plan to develop a privatized Air Traffic Services system in the Philippines and that included throwing the entire weight of the old Air Transportation Office (ATO) – representing the regulatory authority in civil aviation in the country – into the picture.
For that reason alone, CAAP became a privatized entity. However the objectives and goals forecast in such an event still need to be realized:
- Full Modernization of Civil Aviation monitoring systems equipment
- Place Philippine Civil Aviation systems at least at par with those of China, Malaysia that in 1990s have only recently begun their own modernization
- Extensively increase muscle through revenue generated from modernized system
- Increase safety in Philippine Civil Aviation
- Engage in campaigns in cooperation with other state civil aviation authorities for air transport safety, increased travel demand to the Philippines through forming of alliances between Philippine air sector and foreign aviation groups – among many others[2]
Pros and Cons of Eastern Visayas Airport Expansion
After November 2013 many sectors strongly revived the argument that the country needed to seriously consider expanding its airport capacity in the south east that was directly hit by a devastating catastrophe and may be subjected once more to similar tragedy in the future.
After November 2013 many sectors strongly revived the argument that the country needed to seriously consider expanding its airport capacity in the south east that was directly hit by a devastating catastrophe and may be subjected once more to similar tragedy in the future.
Figure 1. Map of Existing Eastern Visayas Airport Terminals
The easiest and quickest method to increase airport expansion would be to expand Eastern Visayas and Calbayog in Western Samar or Borongan in Northern Samar. In Eastern Visayas, to include more than one additional runways and expansion areas for more terminals.
However, only during the time of Pres. Estrada was there nearly four billion worth of infrastructure development poured unconditionally into only Eastern Samar to the exclusion of Western and Northern Samar Provinces.
Out of these funds, none were considerably devoted for improving civil aviation facilities in Eastern Samar and very meager resources were allocated for enhancing civil aviation facilities in the entire Eastern Visayas Region.
That may have all been well since any significant changes, renovations may have gone down the drain due to Yolanda and other powerful disasters that hit Eastern Visayas, particularly Tacloban.
If there are any opponents to the concept of expansion for the argue that expanding the Eastern Visayas Terminal would be unnecessary since it would significantly increase noise and air pollution, reducing the quality of life for many thousands, this will be qualified by the myriad of benefits that will accrue to the entire region and in general, to the country.
Expansion of Services Eastern Visayas Air Terminal
Favorable Arguments
Without increasing airport capacity, the Philippines is bound to lose out on its standing in world competitiveness, improved public sector revenues and tourism – both domestic and international.
The lack of airport capacity all over the archipelago, the absence of facilities for visiting guests, was a painful constriction in the country since the 1970s for increasing and invigorating business exchanges, tourism being only one of these challenged entrepreneurial activities. Yet in the 1990s, the government decided on closing down, downgrading airports in the country.
For the Eastern Visayas Air Terminal is the quickest option to contribute to making the Philippines a world class tourism hub. Not undertaking this kind of action will set back both economic and relevant goals foreseen by our economic planners by up to thirty years or longer.
One of the lesser known positive arguments for this project is that Leyte, for a very long time, has always been considered as the number three biggest voters’ source in the entire country. For some time in the distant past, Leyte was the biggest vote source in Philippine elections until it slid down to second and then third.
At this time, Leyte and Samar's combined share a place in the top seven to eight largest populated provinces and regions in the country. However, the record increase in the populations of Calabarzon (most populated region, 2014 demographics data), the National Capital Region (second most populated region), Central Luzon (third most populated region) and even other Visayas Regions, is indubitably connected to internal migration from Eastern Visayas to these areas.
Air Transport Factor for Jumpstarting Growth
The decrease in Eastern Visayas demographic can be attributed to the severe lack of development in the area.
More than 500,000 hectares of public domain is sitting idly in Eastern Visayas; thousands of hectares untouched can be attributed to ancestral domain while hundreds to thousands of hectares of undeveloped land in the entire Eastern Visayas Region is waiting to be tilled for productive agriculture, aquaculture, service sector establishments and other business, converted into habitats for the victims of Yolanda and other calamities, commercial and industrial zones, among many other economic activities.
This cannot be done unless serious development funding will be poured into the Region and this has to start with transport infrastructure.
Figure 2. Map of Eastern Visayas
Logistics and most especially transport infrastructures is basic to this and following or alongside this, social development measures, economic solutions to address deeply entrenched problems will have to be attended to with dispatch.
Cost Effectiveness.
Due to the enormous development in Eastern Samar, as well as the building of main national highways surrounding it, the Airport Terminal already has excellent transport links on all four corners.
An added runway would be the cheapest way to create additional capacity. It will take fairly minimal priority activities and less resources to complete the road network that will provide full access to the Eastern Visayas terminal facility.
Existing Infrastructure.
One of the targeted existing airport terminals already has a well developed transport infrastructure with only one runway, which increases the efficiency of adding an extra runway at the projected expanded Eastern Visayas Air Terminal.
Runway II and Runway III in the future could be added, and Runway I may still be extended.
Employment.
The Expanded Eastern Visayas Airport Terminal can become a big employer in the area that will support no less than 250,000 – 350,000 jobs. Placing the airport at another hub airport would lead to job losses in the Airport Terminal area.
In 2001 to the present, only very few travelers passed through Airport Terminal, representing almost a meager percentage of all visitors from domestic and overseas.
Predicted air travel growth.
From the 1990s, the Department of Tourism and Department of Transportation and Communications produced air passenger forecasts for the Philippines that were positive. These forecasts predicted a significant increase of millions of passengers per annum (mppa) in the 1990s to over 80 mppa by 2020 or even higher. In this new decade, 2000s air transport forecasts traffic growing between 7 to 20 mppa or much, much higher by 2030.
The majority of these new passengers are projected to pass through airports in South East Asia.
Increase tourist arrivals.
Should this project be realized, this expanded Airport will help increase tourism, create a more vigorous and dynamic atmosphere for trade and commerce.
As a result, this project will propel the economy of Eastern Visayas to heights and remove its label as one of the most economically depressed regions of the country. It also redounds to improved revenues for the public sector and provides sets of rationale for investors to engage their resources in Eastern Visayas.
Improve disaster rescue and relief.
Another very positive impact of this project is that it will improve response capability each time our people in Eastern Visayas and nearby regions are confronted by natural and human-made catastrophes.
As we are all aware, during the recent tragedy caused by super typhoon Yolanda, the problem of logistics was the most crucial challenge faced by emergency responders on the part of public sector, the private sector relief volunteers as well as our brothers and sisters from foreign countries.
The difficulty faced by all was that only Cebu City had air transport infrastructure that could accommodate foreign aircraft bearing much-needed relief goods.
To assuage this situation, it is determined that the government make functional one decently sized civil aviation facility at the crossroads of Eastern Visayas, particularly in Catbalogan City of Samar Island that on the north serves as the gateway to Luzon, and in the south to Leyte, Central Visayas and Mindanao.
Enhance Social networking.
Finally, and not the least of all, beyond auguring in the growth of business, this project will impact greatly upon linking-up of more people – resulting in greater momentum for social networking and cementing of significant relationships.
In sum, this project is laudable for it will add value to the region and the country’s public sector priority activities and private commercial and industrial enterprise’ increased profit from increased dealings as well as cultural development and enhancing social infrastructures.
Arguments Against Eastern Visayas
Airport Terminal Expansion
Cost Effectiveness.
Due to the enormous development in Eastern Samar, as well as the building of main national highways surrounding it, the Airport Terminal already has excellent transport links on all four corners.
An added runway would be the cheapest way to create additional capacity. It will take fairly minimal priority activities and less resources to complete the road network that will provide full access to the Eastern Visayas terminal facility.
Existing Infrastructure.
One of the targeted existing airport terminals already has a well developed transport infrastructure with only one runway, which increases the efficiency of adding an extra runway at the projected expanded Eastern Visayas Air Terminal.
Runway II and Runway III in the future could be added, and Runway I may still be extended.
Employment.
The Expanded Eastern Visayas Airport Terminal can become a big employer in the area that will support no less than 250,000 – 350,000 jobs. Placing the airport at another hub airport would lead to job losses in the Airport Terminal area.
In 2001 to the present, only very few travelers passed through Airport Terminal, representing almost a meager percentage of all visitors from domestic and overseas.
Predicted air travel growth.
From the 1990s, the Department of Tourism and Department of Transportation and Communications produced air passenger forecasts for the Philippines that were positive. These forecasts predicted a significant increase of millions of passengers per annum (mppa) in the 1990s to over 80 mppa by 2020 or even higher. In this new decade, 2000s air transport forecasts traffic growing between 7 to 20 mppa or much, much higher by 2030.
The majority of these new passengers are projected to pass through airports in South East Asia.
Increase tourist arrivals.
Should this project be realized, this expanded Airport will help increase tourism, create a more vigorous and dynamic atmosphere for trade and commerce.
As a result, this project will propel the economy of Eastern Visayas to heights and remove its label as one of the most economically depressed regions of the country. It also redounds to improved revenues for the public sector and provides sets of rationale for investors to engage their resources in Eastern Visayas.
Improve disaster rescue and relief.
Another very positive impact of this project is that it will improve response capability each time our people in Eastern Visayas and nearby regions are confronted by natural and human-made catastrophes.
As we are all aware, during the recent tragedy caused by super typhoon Yolanda, the problem of logistics was the most crucial challenge faced by emergency responders on the part of public sector, the private sector relief volunteers as well as our brothers and sisters from foreign countries.
The difficulty faced by all was that only Cebu City had air transport infrastructure that could accommodate foreign aircraft bearing much-needed relief goods.
To assuage this situation, it is determined that the government make functional one decently sized civil aviation facility at the crossroads of Eastern Visayas, particularly in Catbalogan City of Samar Island that on the north serves as the gateway to Luzon, and in the south to Leyte, Central Visayas and Mindanao.
Enhance Social networking.
Finally, and not the least of all, beyond auguring in the growth of business, this project will impact greatly upon linking-up of more people – resulting in greater momentum for social networking and cementing of significant relationships.
In sum, this project is laudable for it will add value to the region and the country’s public sector priority activities and private commercial and industrial enterprise’ increased profit from increased dealings as well as cultural development and enhancing social infrastructures.
Arguments Against Eastern Visayas
Airport Terminal Expansion
733,377 people are living under the flight path. This population density means it is not the ideal location for an airport. It makes sense to increase capacity in an area with lower population density
Figure 3. Population of Eastern Visayas
Noise and air pollution would increase through expansion. Pollution levels near Eastern Visayas Air Terminal are already high. Increasing capacity would add to the problems of air and noise pollution.
External Costs:
Eastern Visayas Air Terminal would become the biggest emitter of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the region.
Environmentalists will argue that the expanded air terminal capacity would lead to increased CO2 emissions. Rather than expanding short haul flights, the government should keep the aviation costs very high to reflect the social cost of flying.
The business case for expanding Eastern Visayas Air Terminal is exaggerated. Only a small percentage of air travel from and to the area is directly business related and contributory to nation building.
Even with two runways, Eastern Visayas Air Terminal cannot manage to capture the highest numbers of flights. Eastern Visayas Air Terminal has very few departure flights for every period and it is not one of the country’s key business centers – compared with Cebu, Ormoc City, Legazpi City and many other nearby competing cities.
Alternatives to Air Transport.
Key leaders and politicians from other provinces and regions have supported claims and completely alternate schemes for making their locales the major dedicated hub airports outside of Metro Manila. The argument is for dedicating more resources for these areas and in the process leave out Eastern Visayas even given the fact that it is reeling from severe pain from the recent November 2013 tragedy.
Furthermore, with the growth of electronic communications, mobile technology and tele conferencing by internet and cell phones, it is possible that business will succumb to the limiting of the increase of business travel and utilize cheaper means of interactions rather than expensive travel.
There could also be a major push from various sector to encourage land based transport and using the RORO network, as well as in combination with rail transport - train travel -to replace short flights. This will radically reduce Eastern Visayas’ ideal of becoming a domestic destination as well as target tourist traffic from foreign countries.
Summation. Assessment.
If building the Eastern Visayas City Airport Terminal will be done from purely nothing, no one would suggest building that terminal – particularly in over a populated area and like Tacloban City surrounded by water – making it vulnerable to disaster similar to the storm surge brought about by Yolanda.
The cost of noise and air pollution to local residents is negligible because the location is far from the heart of the populated districts.
It is the concern here that if expanding Eastern Visayas Air Terminal will not be done, the country will have a major infrastructure bottleneck and the incident over not being able to accommodate arrivals from overseas during the post-Yolanda period, could damage the country’s delivery of services during crisis as well as bring down the efforts toward priming the regions for future thrusts toward development.
Without a major hub in Eastern Visayas and maintaining the position of downgrading instead of uplifting airports, the Region will suffer and the country will ultimately lose its competitive advantage.
The increase in airport capacity can contribute to increased pollution and create new or more environmental hazards.
However, weighing the interests of suffering people of Eastern Visayas, the environment and business the best choice is for pursuing the Eastern Visayas Terminal project even if it is not necessary an simple choice to make, with contradictory arguments from the two sides of the issue. Delaying the decision will increase the disadvantages and suitable investments that could be expected to arise from this project will no longer be available after some time.
A form of transport that gives a considerable share to the very costly global warming could be minimized by undertaking as many measures and counter measures as are available to reduce or minimize dangerous emissions that harm our ecology in the country and the planet.
Projections on Design Perspectives.
On or about 2004, the Soekarno Hatta Airport Hyper Terminal design was released. It was the first time that an airport terminal was to be built with an internal commercial shopping complex inside the airport itself. It was also determined to make the design in concord with green construction.
This design appears to be the most favorable type of design for the Eastern Visayas expanded airport terminal.
Figure 4. The Soekarno Hatta Airport HyperTerminal (2004) Design
With a very highly improved, modernized version of the Jakarta, Indonesia Design, a large component of investments may be sourced from sources outside of the Philippine Government, notwithstanding the investment for the equipage and operations-maintenance of the airport itself.
Notes:
- http://www.icao.int/sustainability/Documents/Yearly-Monitor.pdf
- Master Plan for ATS, ATO 1995-2015. Rodal Management and Harris Corporation Florida USA. August 25, 1995.
References:
- Pre-Feasibility Study And Masterplanning For The New Legaspi Airport. Phil-JAC. 2003.
- Yearly Monitor, International Civil Aeronautics Organisation. July 2014.
- HKIA Master Plan 2030 Technical Report. Hongkong civil aviation authority. June 1, 2011 English edition.
- Forecast Scheduled Passenger Traffic from ICAO website:
- http://www.icao.int/sustainability/Pages/eap-fp-forecast-scheduled-passenger-traffic.
- World Population Review. From website: http://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/the-philippines-population/
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