WITH sports events still shuttered, several Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) players and coaches—specifically those from Bulacan and Pampanga—expressed high hopes that San Miguel Corp.’s (SMC) P734-billion new Manila International Airport project in Bulakan town as part of the country’s post-Covid-19 recovery, will give Philippine sports a big shot in the arm.
“It will definitely be a big help for sports. We already have the biggest sports venue in Philippine Sports Arena. With the new airport, we can now host any major local and even international sporting event,” said Bocaue, Bulacan native Jonas Villanueva, coach for the Bataan Risers in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) and former player for the San Miguel Beer and Purefoods in the PBA.
His fellow Bocaue native, Billy Mamaril of San Miguel Beer believes that the airport will promote sports tourism.
“Having an airport in Central Luzon will boost all sectors. Sports and sports entertainment in general will be elevated because the ease of traveling by air will be easier. Having games abroad and having foreign athletes compete in the Philippines will be even more possible. Even fans from abroad could come here to watch major sports events. It will make us Filipinos very proud,” Mamaril said.
Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok Coach Chito Victolero, who hails from Sta. Maria town, said the new airport could eventually make Bulacan province a go-to place for sporting events.
“If the economy in the area improves, it follows that gyms and sports facilities will keep sprouting. Then there will be more sports activities and programs, especially basketball,” Victolero said. “And who knows, a coliseum or arena will soon rise here.”
They agreed that the Bulakan airport will not only benefit sports, but it will improve the standard of living among locals through the jobs that will be created during its construction and actual operations. Jobs will also be generated at the adjacent development, the Bulacan Airport City economic zone.
“The airport will boost the economic growth of the area. People will be more willing to do business in the Central Luzon district because traffic and overpopulation will be at minimum compared to Manila. At the same time, with employment for thousands of people, residents of the area will have more spending capability, and that will improve the local economy,” Mamaril said.
Magnolia Hotshots’ Ian Sangalang, meanwhile, said that people from his hometown Pampanga will no longer need to go to Manila to look for job opportunities.
“The new airport means new job openings, then there will be countless food chains. Pampanga sis close to Bulacan, giving my fellow Kapampangans job opportunities within their reach,” the Magnolia forward said.
“The airport will help resuscitate the businesses that were shut down because of Covid-19. Many Bulakeños will get those jobs they are looking for,” Barangay Ginebra’s Arthur de la Cruz, who traces his roots to Hagonoy, said.
Victolero and Aris Dionisio, a Magnolia rookie from Bustos, said that Bulacan’s businesses and tourism will also benefit from the airport project.
Dionisio said the project will give hope and new opportunities for a lot of people who lost their jobs during the lockdown.
The Bulacan airport will be capable of handling up to 100 million passengers each year and is seen to create about 30 million tourism-related jobs, on top of generating more than a million direct jobs for host province Bulacan and nearby provinces.