Davao Oriental’s Mati airport breaks ground twice
DAVAO CITY—Where can you find an airport project that held its groundbreaking twice?
Only in Mati City, the provincial capital of Davao Oriental, where contending political leaders signaled the start of the project at the same site but in two separate events.
Exactly a week after Mati City Mayor Michelle Rabat and Davao Oriental Gov. Niño Sotero Uy broke ground for the airport upgrading project, another group led by former Rep. Joel Mayo Almario and allies gathered at the same site on Feb. 17 also to signal the project’s start.
Almario, however, no longer called Monday’s event a groundbreaking but a “foundation laying,” where the project’s plan was also buried in capsule, because he said the backhoes and heavy equipment already started digging the grounds as early as Jan. 2.
“But really, the foundation is people coming together to help materialize our collective plans for Mati and Davao Oriental,” added Almario, who is running for mayor against reelectionist Rabat in May’s midterm elections.
Uy is also pitted against 1st District Rep. Nelson Dayanghirang, an Almario ally, in the May elections.
Funding sponsors
Almario said they had invited all local officials, including Rabat and Uy, to their “foundation laying” but both did not come.
Earlier, the Mati City information office issued a statement saying Rabat welcomed the second “groundbreaking,” but noted that other invited officials, including Almario’s son, 2nd District Rep. Cheeno Miguel Almario and 1st District Rep. Nelson Dayanghirang were also absent, “raising doubts as to their support of the project.”
The elder Almario, however, maintained it was during his term as representative when the P200 million was allotted to upgrade the airport but the amount was instead used to acquire the road right of way and lot titles for the airport site.
Almario added his son and allies also secured an additional P90 million to extend the airport’s existing 1.6-kilometer km runway to 2.4 km, which is needed to accommodate Airbus 320 planes; and P700 million funds for the asphalt overlay of the runway and upgrading of airport facilities.
“There is more to do, we should continue to be one not only for the Mati airport but also for the city of Mati and for the province of Davao Oriental,” he said. “So what we did is the laying down ceremony not to compete but to complete the picture.”
Family ties
Three generations of Almarios had held the congressional seat of Davao Oriental’s second district for almost 40 years now. Thelma Almario held the post from 1987 to 1998, after which son Joel Mayo took over until 2007. Thelma held the post again until 2016, after which Joel Mayo took the seat again until 2022, when his son Cheeno Miguel first ran and won. Cheeno, the husband of Rep. Margarita Nograles, is running for reelection in May. Margarita is challenging reelectionist Rep. Paolo Duterte in Davao City’s first district congressional seat.
