DOTr : NPA attack delays Bicol airport project

Decades of neglect to the province Bicol continues and it has hampered the potential of the province to be a progressive region of the country.

Up until now, the New Bicol International Airport that is being constructed experienced another setback, but this time it not to the fault of the government.

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) has expressed their regret for the delay caused by arson incident done by five members of the New People’s Army (NPA) at the construction site of the Bicol International Airport (BIA) in Daraga, Albay.

The New Bicol International Airport that is under construction in Daraga, Albay
(photo credit to DOTr)

“Such attacks bring unnecessary delay to the fruition of (President Rodrigo Duterte’s) transportation goals, most especially as (the) DOTr has been working triple time to deliver infrastructure development in the hope of spurring regional growth and development,” DOTr said in a statement as quoted by the Philippine News Agency.

The DOTr ,citing a reliable source said the five “confirmed  members of the New People’s Army”, who were carrying high-powered firearms, stopped a dump truck owned by Cuerpo Construction at a “checkpoint”, waylaid it and set fire to the vehicle.

Government troops were on the pursuit of the five and has reportedly exchange gunfires with each other.

The Philippine Army has been directed to investigate the incident, which was not the first to have occurred in the area, and identify the perpetrators.

The New BIA Complex project is under the “Build Build Build” program of the Duterte administration, Cuerpo Construction Co. is one of the contractors of the project.

The construction of the new international airport in Daraga, Albay aims to accommodate larger aircraft, which in turn is expected to serve the growing volume of air passengers in the Bicol region.

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Report from PNA