Arroyo wants more flights to ‘surfing capital’

MANILA, Philippines - President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Wednesday ordered the Tourism and Trade and Industry departments to invite Philippine Airlines (PAL) and Cebu Pacific to fly to Siargao Island in Surigao del Norte from Manila to make the island more accessible to tourists. ’’We should invite them... We should push them [to fly to Siargao],’’ the President said in a late-breaking statement. Siargao is the country’s unofficial surfing capital. Mrs. Arroyo issued the instructions upon her arrival at the Sayak Airport in Surigao del Norte after she was told that the widening works on the airport were almost completed and by then could accommodate more airplanes. The statement quoted Trade Secretary Peter B. Favila as saying that PAL and Cebu Pacific would be flying the so-called missionary routes now that they have acquired smaller planes. Tourism Secretary Joseph Durano, however, was quoted as saying that Siargao Island is one of the few priority destinations of the missionary routes. Presently, only domestic carrier South East Airlines (SEAIR) flies directly to Siargao Island from the Cebu International Airport. To get to Siargao from Manila, one has to fly to Butuan City or Cagayan de Oro City and travel by land for about three to four hours to get to Surigao City. From the Surigao City port, one has to take a boat trip that takes four hours. In a phone interview, PAL President Jaime J. Bautista said the company would look into the President’s invitation. "We will consider that. We want to fly to as many destinations as we can," he said. Mr. Bautista, however, noted that the runway in Surigao del Norte is too short. "We will first look at the runway." - BusinessWorld