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BY MAE SINGUAY
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BACOLOD City – Negros Occidental governor Alfredo Marañon Jr. justified his plan to buy a Cessna 206 turboprop aircraft, which would cost around P50 million.
His vice governor, Eugenio Jose Lacson, hoped Marañon would reconsider his plan, saying the amount to be used in buying the aircraft may be used for other needs of the provincial government.
But will the governor heed his advice?
According to Marañon, the six-seater aircraft will be used primarily for “agricultural purposes.”
The planned purchase is “not a luxury but a necessity,” he said.
Aside from agriculture, the aircraft may be used in emergency airlift operations during disasters and serve a “civil defense role” through strategic patrols.
“We can even have tourists rent it at a rate similar to renting private aircrafts,” Marañon said as he likened an aircraft to a “jeepney on the air.”
He assured that the purchase will “go through the proper channels,” including seeking approval from the Department of the Interior and Local Government.
The fund for the planned purchase will be taken from a P191-million supplemental budget the Sangguniang Panlalawigan approved in May./PN
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