WV int’l  gateway opens,
to benefit Neg. Occ., too
BY CARLA GOMEZ

HONG KONG – The historic start of flights from Hong Kong to the Iloilo International Airport yesterday morning, and from Iloilo to Singapore in the evening, opened an international gateway to the rest of Western Visayas that is expected to boost travel, tourism and trade in the region, officials here said.

The landing of the Cebu Pacific flight 5J243-57 fromHong Kong at theIloilo International Airportat 4:30 a.m. yesterday, was met with applause and cheers from passengers on board, most of whom were Overseas Filipino Workers, glad to be able to have a direct flight to their home province and other destinations in the region.

The flight arrived15 minutes ahead of schedule with Noel Servigon, consul general of the Philippines in Hong Kong, among the 57 passengers on board.

Expansion of airport
in Silay set
BY GILBERT BAYORAN

The construction of the 500-meter extension of the Bacolod-Silay Airport runway and expansion of its terminal building is expected to start next year, Silay City Mayor Jose Montelibano said yesterday.

Montelibano said the runway extension will cost P25 million, while the airport terminal building expansion has a budget of P194 million, that was endorsed by the Regional Development Council of Western Visayas.

Frank Carbon, president of the Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the present 2,000-meter airport runway needs expansion to accommodate bigger aircraft, international flights, and bring in more tourists.

The implementation of the Negros Occidental Comprehensive Health Care Program, that has already benefitted 22,436 indigent patients, is being mulled for expansion to cover hacienda and farm workers in the province.

Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr. and Rep. Alfredo Benitez, who distributed NOCHP cards yesterday to beneficiaries in Silay City, said the more Negrenses avail of the program, the better for the province.

Marañon, however, said the payment of premiums will be subsidized by their respective employers, with a counterpart from the provincial government.