Health sector joins call vs Loakan airport closure

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines - The Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center (BGHMC) joined groups opposed to the closure of Loakan airport, fearing effects in the delivery of medical and health services in the region. BGHMC Emergency Room head, Dr. Manuel Quirino, said the airport should remain open for this is fastest way to transport patients with severe diseases to specialized hospitals. "We need an air ambulance," Quirino said, adding that helicopters could not serve as alternative in transporting patients with critical conditions. Quirino said any delay in transportation endangers a patient's life, hence the need for an airport. "To enhance tourism, the medical capacity of a destination is also a requirement," he said. Calls to keep Loakan airport open resurfaced after officials of Baguio Tourism Council (BTC), Baguio Conventions and Visitors Bureau (BCVB), Hotels and Restaurants Association of Baguio, Baguio Association of Hotels and Inns, Baguio-Benguet Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc., and the National Association of Independent Travel Agencies said the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) and the Air Transportation Office (ATO) have not properly acted on several resolutions passed, opposing the airport's closure. Baguio Representative Mauricio Domogan said the airport should remain open, stressing that if there are plans to expand the Baguio City Economic Zone (BCEZ), this can be done in idle property of Benguet Corporation in Balatoc, Itogon town and not toward Loakan airport. He said the city is for the expansion of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) but not where the airport is located. Not only does the airport serve as venue for the fastest mode of travel to Baguio, locators at BCEZ would also need it for unloading raw materials used in the processing of products in the ecozone. Because of the possibility of ATO reviving the plan, Domogan said various stakeholders including the Baguio City Government and officials of the Cordillera should act now and ask the President and DOTC Secretary Leandro Mendoza not to allow the closure of the airport. In the meantime, Anthony de Leon, general manager of the Baguio Country Club and concurrent president of the HRAB, stressed the need to rehabilitate the airport. "We can't be opposing all the time. We also have to do something." The BTC is also negotiating with Sea Air as another airline to service Baguio's air commuters. At present, only Asian Spirit services passengers to and from Baguio. Airline companies reportedly refuse to schedule flights in the city because only a few passengers reserve flights to Baguio. But this is not the case, Domogan said. He stressed there are many who prefer traveling by air when coming to Baguio. However, because flights are often canceled and passengers were inconvenienced, these resulted in their resistance in reserving flights to the city. Flights are also canceled when fog blocks the view of pilots. Domogan said it should be at this time when airplanes bound for Baguio should land at the San Fernando airport in La Union and then travel by land. Domogan said not only does this cuts travel time but both airports complement one another. - Sun.Star