Game changer

Filipinos, and the country as a whole, will soon have a world-class gateway they can truly be proud of.

Just recently, the Department of Transportation finally gave the go-signal for the San Miguel Group to build the P734-billion Bulacan airport project.

San Miguel Group president Ramon Ang said the company may soon start construction of the New Manila International Airport, with groundbreaking likely by December.

Both government and SMC officials believe that NMIA, which will rise on a 2,500 hectare property in Bulakan, Bulacan, will be a facilitator of economic growth for the Philippines. With the present Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) already operating beyond its designed capacity, NMIA will fill the gap and set the standard for a modern, world-class international airport that can address today’s and future capacity requirements.

NMIA will be built with four parallel runways, upgradeable to six. It will have a state-of-the-art terminal building and facilities designed with passenger convenience in mind.

For a seamless travel experience, NMIA is designed to have an express train that can transport airport passengers to and from key areas of Bulacan, Quezon City, Manila, Navotas and Malabon that are connected to other modes of transportation.

With a highly efficient airport that can host 100 aircraft movements per hour, service bigger aircrafts, give more airline choices and accommodate a maximum of 100 million passengers per year upon completion of its final phase, cost of air travel to and from Manila is expected to significantly go down.

And all these benefits, at no cost to government. NMIA will be fully funded by private equity, without government guarantee or subsidy.

With EDSA and C-5 already congested and the traffic problem seeing no end in sight, many people already fear going to NAIA. But by locating this new airport in Bulacan and connecting it via mass rail and expressways to Metro Manila, traffic in major cities near the current airport will be significantly decongested.

And more good news for travellers. This extensive rail and road network will allow vehicles from greater Manila to reach the airport in less than an hour – 15 mins from Balintawak, 30 mins from Makati – at a speed of 60 kph. 

The NMIA is expected to fuel trillions of dollars in economic activity, potentially contributing about nine percent to the gross domestic product by 2025. Estimated impact to the economy would amount to nearly P900 billion.

In addition, this airport project is espected to bring in 35 million tourists annually, generate over a million direct and indirect jobs, revive local industries and give rise to new ones, accelerate exports, attract foreign investments, and improve the quality of life of many families in Bulacan, adjacent provinces and the entire country with its substantial multiplier effects.

 Officials also need noted that the NMIA, which is at the core of the aerotropolis, will provide travelers easiest and fastest access to commerce with 600 hectares allocated for mixed-use development consisting of retail, office, residential, industrial and institutional clusters.

 Many Bulacan residents are already looking forward the expected improvement in the quality of their lives once the project becomes operational. Officials said the NMIA will come with its own flood barrier and spillway to provide solution to Bulacan’s perennial flood problems and that of nearby areas. It will allow floodwaters from the Angat, Ipo and Bustos watersheds to flow directly into Manila Bay.

NMIA’S proponent SMC has also said that it is committed to help, preserve and revive local industries in Bulacan. Part of the master plan is to transform the host province into a seafood capital of the country. Affected fishpond workers will be relocated to suitable sites with resources and tools to reestablish their livelihood and, at the same time, provide them additional skills.

Just outside NMIA’s gates, a sustainable urban center is expected to eventually evolve. Envisioned to become a preferred destination of its own, officials said that the new metropolis will be bigger than any of the country’s existing development to date. NMIA will build the future city, in Bulakan, Bulacan, one that will raise the country’s profile and image as an investment and tourist destination, officials added.

Helping Phl farmers, fisherfolk

Some may not still be aware of it, but the country has as early as 2016 a law calling for the development of farm tourism.

Republic Act 10816 or the Farm Tourism Development Law (FTDL) aims raise farmers’ incomes, contribute to local tourism, and spur the growth of the agriculture sector.

Sen. Cynthia Villar said the law will benefit farmers, farm owners, farming enthusiasts and others who are involved in agriculture, especially in agricultural communities in rural areas.

The law defines farm tourism as the practice of attracting visitors and tourists to farm areas for production, educational and recreational purposes.

Villar, who is also the proponent of the Rice Tariffication Law, said the creation of farm schools in every municipality will provide education, technology, and financial literacy to farmers in the countryside to make them competitive.

During the recent Farm Tourism Summit of the Department of Tourism, Villar noted that farm tourist schools will be a major contributor in bringing back the glory days of agriculture in the country, given the potential to increase the income of people involved in agriculture and in creating a pool of farmers educated on the modern technologies of farming.

 The farm tourism law is now providing them with opportunities to increase their income by having alternative sources, Villar, who chairs the Senate committee on agriculture and food, said.

 The key essence of FTDL is for the government to recognize that tourism, coupled with agriculture extension services, can disseminate the value of agriculture in the economic and cultural development of the country, she pointed out.

Villar has vowed to continue promoting farm tourism and agri-entrepreneurship, reiterating her belief that these would help alleviate poverty among the country’s farmers and fisherfolks.

 Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat for her part has supported boosting agri-tourism, saying tourism sites can help agriculture, as well as farmers and their communities.

According to DOT, there are currently 105 accredited farm tourism sites in the country, majority of which are in Luzon. It is under the umbrella of nature tourism that holds around 20 to 30 percent of the overall tourism market in the country.

Meanwhile, former tourism secretary Mina Gabor said the consciousness of healthy living coupled with a growing sense of wanderlust and thirst for new experiences has led people to rediscover agriculture through farm tourism. This is a welcome change in an industry where the average age of the farmer is 56 years old, she emphasized.

 Also during the forum, Josephine Costales, chairman of Costales Nature Farms in Laguna, said the FTDL provides opportunities for farmers to augment their earnings, and at the same time, increase players in the rural tourism industry.    

Costales added the law would also ensure an enabling environment for farmers to get into farm tourism.

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