KABANKALAN CITY, the richest component city in Negros Occidental, has a so-called “white elephant” that badly needs government attention.
Unknown to many, the city hosts a 104-hectare unfinished airport in Barangay Hilamonan, about 2.9 kilometers from the city proper.
For 18 years now, the Kabankalan City Domestic Airport (KCDA) has remained incomplete. It already has a 1.32-kilometer runway, but needs an additional 600 meters to accommodate bigger aircraft.
As it stands, the existing runway is occasionally used for drag races or kite flying during the city’s annual Sinulog de Kabankalan Festival in January or during the charter anniversary in August.
Beyond that, KCDA has no control tower, no runway apron, and no passenger terminal to speak of.
WASTE OF GOV’T MONEY
The existing runway at the unfinished KCDA is a stark reflection of wasted government money. Digging into the project’s history reveals that more than half a billion pesos has already been spent.
Starting in 2007, the Kabankalan City government poured hundreds of millions of pesos into land acquisition, ground works, and perimeter fencing.
A decade later, the city shelled out over ₱45 million, while the provincial government contributed nearly the same amount. On top of that, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) released ₱120 million in two tranches — all for runway construction.
I spoke with former Negros Occidental governor and Kabankalan mayor Isidro “Pidio” Zayco, who confirmed that the runway project began during his term as mayor.
“As far as I can remember, we used around ₱45 million from our 20% City Development Fund (CDF). The provincial government also contributed, and CAAP gave ₱120 million in two tranches — all for the runway,” Zayco said.
He clarified, however, that CAAP funds were never coursed through the city government.
“CAAP conducted its own bidding and had its own contractor that implemented the runway concreting,” he added.
After the 1.32-kilometer runway was completed, everything at KCDA came to a halt — and has remained so ever since.
POLITICAL PROMISES
In the 2016, 2019, 2022, and 2025 elections, KCDA became a victim of political rhetoric — empty promises recycled every election cycle. Many local and national politicians pledged to help secure funding for the airport’s completion. Nothing came of it.
Then came Mayor Benjie Miranda.
In the 2022 elections, Miranda emerged as a surprise winner, toppling then-incumbent Mayor Pedro Zayco, brother of Pidio Zayco — ending the Zayco family’s nearly four-decade political dominance in Kabankalan.
Miranda inherited the unfinished KCDA — an immense leadership challenge. He wanted to complete it, but estimates showed the airport would require at least ₱885 million to become fully operational.
In 2023, Negros Occidental 6th District Provincial Board Member Jeffrey Tubola sponsored a resolution at the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, urging both the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and CAAP to include KCDA’s completion in their annual budgets.
Sadly, nothing came out of it.
HOUSE BILL NO. 790
In 2024, Mayor Miranda and city officials met with then-DOTr Secretary Jaime Bautista to discuss KCDA.
According to Miranda, Bautista promised to look into the matter and explore possible DOTr assistance.
But Bautista stepped down in February 2025 due to health reasons, leaving KCDA plans once again hanging.
Concerned about the airport’s fate, Negros Occidental 6th District’s Rep. Mercedes Alvarez-Lansang filed House Bill No. 790 on July 1, 2025 — “An Act Establishing a Domestic and Commercial Airport in Kabankalan City.”
The bill aims to legitimize KCDA’s construction and secure national funding for the project.
However, the measure remains pending at the House Committee on Transportation.
‘LAST DEAL’
Mayor Miranda has since made what he considers a last-ditch effort. Late last year, he wrote to President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., seeking assistance to finally complete KCDA. As of now, the President has yet to respond.
Should Malacañang remain silent, Miranda plans to tap 50% of Kabankalan’s annual 20% City Development Fund (CDF) starting next year.
Kabankalan’s 2025 National Tax Allocation (NTA) stands at ₱2.4 billion. Twenty percent of that amounts to ₱480 million — half of which is ₱240 million.
If this plan is carried out, Miranda believes the airport can be completed within four years, even without national government aid.
A MUST, A BOON
Why the insistence on finishing KCDA instead of letting it rot as a permanent white elephant?
Public logic says it is both a necessity and a boon for southern Negros Occidental.
Kabankalan lies 113 kilometers from Silay City, where the Bacolod–Silay Airport — now 14 years old — is located.
Once completed, KCDA would become the second airport in Negros Occidental and the third in the Negros Island Region (NIR). Such development is seen as a major boost to trade, investment, and tourism within NIR.
KCDA is also projected to complement Sipalay City, dubbed the “crown jewel” of Negros Island for its pristine beaches — often likened to Boracay.
Sipalay is just over an hour’s drive from Kabankalan.
‘A WING AND A PRAYER’
Many projections have been laid out for KCDA. Many dreams have been cast. But the problem has never been technical or financial. What’s missing is political will at the top.
For 18 long years, nearly ₱500 million in public funds has gone to waste. Worse, the 104-hectare property could have been productive if used for other purposes. Letting KCDA languish for nearly two decades is nothing short of “a wing and a prayer.”
Absurd, indeed.
One can only hope KCDA never becomes an absolute joke in Kabankalan.
Praying for its proper completion — rather than continued embarrassment./PN
