President Duterte opened on Saturday the new Sangley Airport in Cavite City and said that when he ends his six-year term in 2022, he is planning to use it for his last flight back to his home city of Davao.
The President divulged his final flight plans after leading the inauguration of the Sangley Airport.
The new airport, one of the big ticket items in the “Build, Build, Build” program, aims to lessen air traffic congestion at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
“I’m just two years away and I will go home and pack up and use the flight from my – last flight, as long as it will not go down there in the sea,” Duterte said in his impromptu remarks.
“I will take my last flight as President to Davao. I will use this airport,” he said.
The President has lauded the construction of the Sangley Airport Development Project to reduce air traffic in Manila airport, citing the efforts made by Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade.
He said Tugade, a former classmate at San Beda College of Law, may be “kuripot” (cheapskate) but is “bright and competent” to complete any assignment given to him.
Duterte also offered an apology to the aviation stakeholders for his past outburst over the congestion problems hounding NAIA. He admitted there was trying to sort out the “crisis” at the time, to the point he jokingly asked Tugade to blow up the NAIA runway.
“I’d like to apologize for my outburst noon sa lahat ng – well ‘yung lahat nakaharap mo. Simply because there was really a crisis,” he said.
“And so sabi ko kay Art, Art, p***** i** itong NAIA na ito. Para wala na tayong problema paputukin mo na lang ‘yung runway tapos doon na kayo lahat sa Clark mag-landing,” he said.
Duterte recalled that it was then that he suggested the use of Sangley Airport for general aviation to reduce air traffic at NAIA. He said he gave Tugade until the end of 2019 to complete the project, which the Transportation chief achieved. (Genalyn Kabiling)
