A POLITICAL dispute has erupted in Cebu over a proposal to build a new international airport, pitting Fifth District Representative Vincent Franco “Duke” Frasco’s vision for a disaster-resilient backup facility against Governor Pamela Baricuatro’s criticism that it is a “ridiculous” diversion from unfinished projects.
Frasco is pushing for an international airport in Sogod, northern Cebu, saying it would ensure air connectivity and boost economic growth following the magnitude 6.9 earthquake on September 30, 2025.
Baricuatro, however, rejected the idea, arguing that the stalled Camotes Islands airport project in Frasco’s own district should be completed first.
Frasco, in an interview with local media on Tuesday, October 21, said that if the earthquake’s epicenter had been in Mactan, operations at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) could have been severely disrupted, crippling travel and emergency response.
He said the proposed Sogod airport would enhance Cebu’s disaster resilience while driving development in the province’s northern areas.
The lawmaker added that major regions worldwide have multiple international airports, citing Metro Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Clark and the upcoming airports in Bulacan and Cavite, to justify the need for Cebu’s second international gateway.
Pamela: Prioritize Camotes runway
Baricuatro said Frasco should first focus on completing and operationalizing the Camotes runway, which remains unfinished and faces unresolved payment issues.
“Maghimo na sab siyag airport sa Sogod, wala pa gani niya nahuman ang Camotes. Daghan pa kaayog problema, naa pay wala nabayran diha sa airport sa Camotes unya maghimo nasab siya og Sogod (He’s already planning to build an airport in Sogod, yet he hasn’t even finished the one in Camotes. There are still so many problems — there are even unpaid obligations for the Camotes airport — and now he wants to build another one in Sogod),” Baricuatro said on Wednesday, October 22.
The governor said it is impractical to pursue a new multibillion-peso project when another airport in the same district remains incomplete.
Frasco's counter-attack
In a statement posted on his Facebook page, Frasco criticized Baricuatro for calling his proposal “ridiculous,” saying her reaction reflected a mindset “limited by politics rather than vision.”
He said major cities worldwide, such as New York, London, Tokyo and Manila, have multiple airports, and warned that if MCIA were shut down by a calamity, Cebu would be cut off from the rest of the country.
“Cebu needs a secondary international airport, and it needed it yesterday,” Frasco said, urging Baricuatro to “set aside politics until 2028” and cooperate for the good of the province.
In a SunStar Cebu report on November 3, 2024, the Camotes Domestic Airport in San Francisco, Camotes Islands, was expected to boost tourism, create jobs, and spur economic growth once completed.
Frasco said then that the runway had been concreted, describing it as a transformative project for the four municipalities of Camotes.
The project has a P265 million budget for the runway and an additional P120 million for the terminal. Proposed in 2020, the airport will accommodate 70- to 80-passenger planes on land owned by the Provincial Government of Cebu.
“Worth studying”
Former Mactan-Cebu International Airport general manager Nigel Paul Villarete said in a text message on Wednesday, October 22, that Frasco’s proposal was “interesting and certainly worth entertaining and studying,” but stressed that it must undergo proper development and feasibility studies before being considered.
Villarete said the province already has an international airport in MCIA.
He added that the realization of Frasco's proposal would depend on its financial and economic viability. Even if it could be built quickly, he said, no project could proceed without proving it would be sustainable.
“At the end of the day, Neda requires those assessments, and certainly a project such as an international airport would need a Neda Board and Investment Coordinating Committee approval,” Villarete said, referring to the National Economic and Development Authority, which has since been renamed the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev).
Villarete said the best course of action is to follow the established project development process — pre-feasibility study, feasibility study, Regional Development Council endorsement, and DEPDev approval.
“Government will not fund projects that are not viable, and this can only be determined by its Economic Internal Rate of Return. Personally, I think it’s a good idea, so I would strongly push that the pre-investment studies be done soonest,” said Villarete, who served as general manager of the Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority from 2010 to 2016.
Not all airports with international capacity are ‘international’
Villarete also clarified that there is a difference between an international airport and one capable of handling international flights.
“The first one has regular scheduled flights,” he said. “The second may have the capability but doesn’t have regular scheduled flights. They might have in the future, and then they become international airports.”
He said passenger demand — not government designation — determines an airport’s classification.
“It won’t be the government or the airport that determines if an airport is local, national or international — it’s the airlines and passengers themselves. If there are plenty of international passengers, then it will become an international airport,” Villarete said.
Villarete's statement contradicted that of Republic Act 9497 (The Civil Aviation Authority Act of 2008), which mandates that the designation of international airports in the country is governed by the classification system instituted by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Caap).
According to Caap's rules, an airport may be classified as an international airport if it can handle international flights and has border control facilities for customs and immigration. Only airports owned by the National Government are classified by Caap; privately owned aerodromes are excluded from this system.
Villarete added that MCIA already serves as the main international gateway not only for Cebu, but also for the entire Visayas and parts of Mindanao.
“An international airport is a very big airport with structures and facilities to handle international flights. You can’t have as many as you want or anywhere you want because its identification depends on being a destination, not just on size or capability,” Villarete said. (CDF)