BUTUAN CITY – Concerned citizens here led by the Caraga Watch have blamed the government’s lack of political will to dismantle structures and relocate residents that pose a hazard to the air traffic at the Butuan City Airport.
The reaction follows last Friday’s crash landing of a Philippine Airlines (PAL) A320 Airbus jet at Purok 6, Barangay Libertad here Caraga Watch spokesmen John Stevens Hinayon and Jun Capillas said the huge PAL A320 Airbus plane on Friday nearly hit the big military fuel depot located about five to six meters away from the runway that could have caused a huge explosion and may have killed all 148 plane passengers and hundreds of residents.
The Caraga Watch officials said local authorities have not taken any action that will prevent further accidents.
Investigators of the Oct. 26 PAL jet crash landing have not yet disclosed the results of the probe.
Butuan City Airport manager Emmanuel Costello until now remained silent and failed to provide an update on the investigations.
Last Saturday, some newsmen were allegedly harassed and were barred by airport security personnel from taking photographs of the damaged PAL plane.
Airport officials claimed that taking photographs inside the police restriction area is illegal.
The group said the accidents should be investigated by concerned government agencies like the Air Transportation Office (ATO), the regional office of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), and Philippine National Police.
Caraga Watch cited last year’s incident where the airport runway lights were stolen.
They also criticized the Butuan City government for allegedly doing nothing to improve services at the airport.
The group claimed they have requested President Arroyo to investigate the ATO officials because of the complaints of airport security guards that their salaries are usually delayed.
“Because of these many anomalies, we are calling for a no- nonsense, impartial and full-blown investigation of the Oct. 26 PAL plane crash landing,” the group said.
They said the National Government should act now and solve the problems at the Butuan City Airport before more disasters occur.