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MISSING CONTEXT: Bohol-Panglao Airport made possible with ‘Build, Build, Build’

Rappler.com

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MISSING CONTEXT: Bohol-Panglao Airport made possible with ‘Build, Build, Build’
(UPDATED) Construction for the airport began in 2015, while Benigno 'Noynoy' Aquino III was still president

At a glance

  • Claim: The Bohol-Panglao International Airport was built through President Rodrigo Duterte’s “Build, Build, Build” initiative.
  • Rating: MISSING CONTEXT
  • The facts: Construction and funding for the airport began in 2015, while Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III was the president.
  • Why we fact-checked this: This post has 1,085 reactions and 78 shares at the time of writing.

Complete details:

A post suggesting that the recently opened Bohol-Panglao International Airport was built through President Rodrigo Duterte’s “Build, Build, Build” initiative was posted on May 31. It has received 1,085 reactions and 78 shares, as of writing.

The post used a before-and-after format. Under the caption “BEFORE” for a photo of a dirt field, it superimposed images of former president Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III and Vice President Leni Robredo, both members of the Liberal Party. Under the caption “NOW” for a photo of the finished airport, it superimposed images of President Duterte and his daughter, Davao Mayor Sara Duterte, who are being pushed by allies to run for vice president and president, respectively.

This claim is missing context.

This project was completed during Duterte’s term but was approved and funded during the Aquino administration.

According to the Department of Transportation (DOTr), the first feasibility study of what is now the Bohol-Panglao International Airport was conducted in 2000, while Joseph Estrada was still president.

In 2008, then-president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed Memorandum Order No. 282, which stated that the Manila International Airport Authority will principally fund the Panglao International Airport Development Project. However, a bidding in 2010 failed due to lack of funding.

It was Aquino who had given the project the green light as part of his public-private partnership (PPP) infrastructure program. In Aquino’s first State of the Nation address in 2010, he brought up the idea of using partnerships of this nature to construct the Bohol-Panglao Airport

Aquino expressed his preference to expand the Tagbilaran Airport over constructing a new airport on Panglao Island in 2012. By June 2014, however, six private Japanese construction firms had submitted bids to construct what is now the Bohol-Panglao International Airport, with Chiyoda Corporation and Mitsubishi Corporation winning the contract for the airport’s construction. Construction for the airport began in June 2015. 

The photo on the right is an image of the airport runway being constructed as of April 2016 – before Duterte was elected president – based on a Google reverse image search. A similar image that included the relevant details was found on the website “bohol-guide.com.” A post on the DOTr’s verified Facebook page also identifies the image as construction of the airport taken in April 2016.

The construction of the airport had been delayed by 48%, as of 2016, with an expected date of completion sometime in 2021. However, when Arthur Tugade was appointed as Duterte’s transportation secretary, the airport’s construction was fast-tracked. The Bohol-Panglao International Airport opened to the public on November 27, 2018, or nearly three years ahead of schedule. – Jose Atienza/Rappler.com

Jose Atienza is a Rappler intern. This fact check was reviewed by a member of Rappler’s research team and a senior editor. Learn more about Rappler’s internship program here.

Keep us aware of suspicious Facebook pages, groups, accounts, websites, articles, or photos in your network by contacting us at factcheck@rappler.com. Let us battle disinformation one fact check at a time.

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