PRESIDENT Noynoy Aquino, who led Monday the groundbreaking for the P17.5-billion Mactan airport terminal 2 (T2), found as “too insulting” the allegation that the Liberal Party will use the P14.4 billion premium paid for the Mactan airport upgrading project.
“Someone has said the P14 billion will be used by the Liberal Party for the elections next year. That’s an insult. According to this person, our party has committed theft and stupidity. That’s too insulting,” he said.
Would PNoy ever forget that?
Remember that an injury, it has been said, is much sooner forgotten than an insult.
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PNoy did not name the person who made the allegation. But a June 22 Sun.Star report quoted former Cebu governor Emilio “Lito” Osmeña as saying, “I hope the rumors that this is the Liberal Party’s way of raising funds for the elections are not true.”
No direct allegations there. But he continued that if his apprehensions are proven true, he would tell PNoy, “Wa kay uwaw (You’re shameless or Shame on you).”
Well, it’s clear he didn’t tell that to PNoy.
It’s also clear his apprehensions are not yet proven true.
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PNoy said he would let the insult slide and expressed hope the one who raised the P14.4-billion question would see that the funds go straight to the Treasury and cannot be spent without congressional approval.
But where is the money? Engr. Nigel Paul Villarete, Mactan airport general manager, said it is deposited in a “blocked” account of the airport authority in the Land Bank of the Philippines.
Airport officials should work to keep the money in Cebu and use it to build the airport’s second runway.
It should be used to complement Mactan airport T2, which GMR-Megawide Cebu Airport Corp. (GMCAC), the winner of the P17.5-billion Mactan expansion project, promised to become the country’s first resort airport.