Asian travel made easier for Western Visayas residents

NOT for long Bacoleños and Negrenses will find it easier to enjoy Hong Kong and probably Singapore when the Iloilo airport facility will be officially declared as an international airport.

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It is expected that before the end of this year, local residents will find the region as a gateway to Hong Kong. Instead of flying to Manila or Cebu for a travel to Hong Kong or Singapore, Negrenses would just simply take a fastcraft to Iloilo City then a taxicab to Iloilo Airport and presto, you are there waiting for your flight.

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Chances are these Asian flights will be in the later evening as domestic flights still fly the skies of the country. So there is no reason to be left behind with so many ferry trips between the two islands of Panay and Negros.

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In a chance talk with Iloilo Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog meeting him late evening at a coffee bar, he mentioned to this writer that Ilonggo Senator Franklin Drilon is also assisting in the issue of the airport operations which has to continue till evening. Of course, this is an obligation of government to have airport and immigration personnel to work at night. And airlines are not obligated to foot the bill of airport operation costs like overtime pay of airport workers.

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This is an issue that has to be resolved and it’s amusing why government takes time resolving all these progressive moves instead of spending all those government money on repairing highways every three years to impress their constituents to bolster election interests.

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We hope that Negrense tourism stakeholders should now understand how to sell the city and the province to domestic and foreign tourists. The problem facing them, we believe, is how to unite their minds and resources and not just for their own respective business interests. One way to make this come true is to have these plans initiated by tourism people who do not own tourism-oriented properties. They could act neutrally on development plans.