Rep. Mercado vows completion of airport and alternate seaport facilities

By BONG PEDALINO
September 1, 2010

MAASIN CITY  –  Now on his third and final term as the representative of Southern Leyte’s lone legislative district, Cong. Roger Mercado has vowed to finish this city’s airport at barangay Panan-awan and the alternative docking port at barangay Guadalupe.

And to put flesh to this long-cherished aspiration, the lawmaker said this will be one among his many priorities as chairman of the House Committee on Transportation in the present Congress.

Speaking at his bi-monthly radio program live at DYDM over the weekend, Cong. Mercado said it’s about time travelers in these parts enjoy the comfort and speed of air travel against the usual three hours of land trip to Tacloban to avail of a plane ride.

He said he had spoken with Transportation Secretary Ping de Jesus for the fast completion of the airport project so it can service passengers wanting to reach Manila and other urban centers in a matter of an hour, if not minutes.

On the other side, on the sea lanes, a new roll-on, roll-off facility at barangay Can-iwan must be pursued, inasmuch as this has been part of a grand plan to connect the Philippine islands called the Super Regions project, said Cong. Mercado.

Once these two projects shall have been finished and functional, it will complement all the concreted highways in the province, the tallest bridge in Agas-Agas, and would surely spur economic development, he added.