Eduardo Pontaoe
8 Oct 2009

Re: Alaminos Airport

Seemed Mayor Nani Braganza got his wish. The game begins!

The “brain trust” in charge of this dream project did not have complete command of array of analysis they flaunted such as: the technical, economical, financial and environmental issues.

Technical side… Highly flawed being made by corrupted bureaucrats and the infrastructures especially the roads leading to Braganza’s fiefdom is not wide enough from the hubbub of Dagupan. Ask anybody from Dagupan to Santa Barbara to Urdaneta who’s crazy to go fly from Alaminos. None!

Economics side… Is the distribution of goods and production sustainable? The landing and flying fees should be the utmost consideration because without this, this airport still on the construction stage is dead in the tarmac. What and where are the airlines are coming from? The proximity of DMA at Dau, is the poison pill this dream of Mayor Braganza should realize.

Financial side… This project for all intents and purposes is political. It is the filet mignon a grateful Little Bugger Arroyo could throw to a lapdog and blood kin for towing the line. With this amount of money – P3B – and the kind of mentality of the Pinoy in a Pavlovian setting corruption can’t be denied. I can foresee Mayor Braganza becoming The Benjie of western Pangasinan.

One more thing! The land to be acquired at Sabangan-Telbang-Pandan, who owns the property? Does Nani Braganza have a piece of the action?

Environmental side… It’s a done deal without the proper study on this issue. With the kind of corrupted people in the PENR department you bet the analysis done is just a formality.

The pièce de résistance…

The most important ingredient missing in this boondoggle is the demographic study that would make STP airport viable. Looking at the map of Pangasinan, Alaminos is surrounded by the towns of Agno, Anda, Bani, Bolinao, Mabini and Sual with 118 barangays not enough population to generate the goods and services an airport would need.

Somebody, not so long ago told me this airport in Alaminos or any other town in Pangasinan is a dream… a fool’s hallucination.

We can’t stop laughing our socks off when this Airport becomes an Airfart.

By the way, what happened to the FERRY boat trance . . . or should we say FAIRY tale . . . concocted by Mayors Alipio of Dagupan, Jonas of Lingayen, and the what’s-his-name from San Fernando?

Harbinger of things to come?

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