Frank Carbon, vice president for government affairs of the Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MBCCI), said the airport will connect southern Negros to larger markets and boost its appeal to outside investors.

“We need the airport in Kabankalan to improve the connectivity of southern Negros, especially the tourist sites in Cauayan and Sipalay,” he told Brigada News FM Kabankalan on Tuesday, July 1.

He noted that the decades-long delay in construction has already caused economic setbacks.

“The delay results in revenue losses and loss of appetite to expand businesses,” Carbon said. “It also lessens the attractiveness of the area to outside investors. Many may interpret it as lack of vision and low political integrity.”

What should be done?
Carbon urged city and congressional leaders to craft an integrated socio-economic development plan involving surrounding municipalities, with Kabankalan serving as the urban center of the “Super South.”

“The City of Kabankalan is too small for outside-the-province investors,” he said. “City officials and the congressman should bring neighboring towns and cities together under a shared development vision.”

He also called on local governments to address long-standing issues that hamper growth.

They must improve power and water supply reliability, strengthen peace and order, and eliminate flooding,” Carbon said.

To protect natural assets and sustain growth, he pushed for stricter environmental enforcement.

“All the cities and municipalities in the so-called ‘Super South’ should pass ordinances prohibiting tree-cutting and public littering, with corresponding fines and imprisonment,” Carbon said. “They should emulate the laws and political will of Puerto Princesa—the cleanest city in the Philippines.”

Meanwhile, Carbon welcomed Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri’s July 1 pledge to help complete the Kabankalan airport project.

Zubiri committed to work with the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) and other agencies to fast-track the stalled development.*