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ILOILO CITY: Unless the Air Transportation Office (ATO) pays P5.7
million covering two months and a half of electric power consumption
at the new airport in Cabatuan, Iloilo, it only has until today, May
12, or power will be cut off, said a reporter from the Philippine
News Agency.
However, ATO Area Manager Alan Java assured that
they would pay the whole amount of P5.7 million owed to the Iloilo
Electric Cooperative (ILECO-I) not later than Tuesday, May 13 upon
the release of funds by the Department of Budget and Management.
ILECO-I general manager Wilfred Billena said
because of ATO’s failure to pay on time for the electric
consumption of the airport, they gave a notice of disconnection last
week to Java.
“Business is business and we have no other
alternative except to disconnect the airport power connection if ATO
cannot pay its bill. Another bill of more than P2 million is coming
up on May 14 and this will further aggravate the situation,”
Billena said. Meanwhile, Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas said the
Iloilo airport issue should be resolved at the earliest possible
time since this affects the city’s investors and business climate.
The new P6-billion airport, inaugurated on June
24, 2007, is considered as the show window and major entry point of
Panay Island. It was transferred from Mandurriao district in this
city to Barangay Tiring, Cabatuan to cater to the growing needs of
plane passengers in Iloilo and the rest of Panay and provides a safe
and comfortable area for commuters.
Billena said ATO was able to give an advance
deposit of one month after its inaugural operation in 2007. But the
amount was quickly eaten up after ATO failed to pay its bill on
time.
Only last week, ATO paid more than P2 million
but the amount hardly covers for its huge previous arrears with
ILECO-I. The electric cooperative also gave an allowance of one week
for ATO to settle its bill before disconnection after Iloilo Gov.
Niel Tupas intervened and asked for ILECO to reconsider its decision
of power disconnection.
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