Philippines (left) and United States of America flags.Promises are meant to be broken. This seemed to be true when the local head of Air Transportation Office (ATO) here complained Thursday that the US forces have not fulfilled their promise to help improve the facilities at the Zamboanga City International Airport.
"They promised everything, but up to this point in time not a single nail was given," ATO chief for Western Mindanao Celso Bayabos told members of the City Council. He did not elaborate further.
Bayabos was invited by the City Council to find out the extent of damage of the runway at the international airport, which the local ATO chief has been complaining that needs an immediate and major repair.
The US Embassy spokesperson in Manila, Rebecca Thompson, has been insisting that the "US forces are here at the invitation of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) under the Visiting Forces Agreement.
But Bayabos said he was puzzled because US forces were expanding the structure they had built inside the airport within the Edwin Andrews Air Base (EAAB), though he said the expansion had the permission from the central office.
According to Bayabos, his office submitted a letter to the head of US forces here to do something about it, but instead of initiating actions like moving it (away), they even added some structures making it bigger now.
Meanwhile, local legislators here, during Thursday's regular session, questioned Bayabos why he is still allows huge US aircraft, such as C-17 military plane, to land despite the problem.
In response, Bayabos said they have issued advisories to all pilots to exercise extreme caution while landing in the international airport due to the presence of holes or craters in the runway.
Since 2002, US government have been deploying special forces to Zamboanga with a mission of training Filipino soldiers in fighting terrorists and implementing humanitarian projects on Sulu and Basilan.
American military aircraft have been using the city's international airport to transport personnel and equipment into the airport in support of the US mission to assist, train and advise Philippine military in its fight against the Abu Sayyaf and other domestic terrorist organizations.
There had also been frequent trips of huge US military aircraft, four times bigger than a C-130 cargo plane, using the Zamboanga international airport, aside from smaller military planes and helicopters.
"They promised everything, but up to this point in time not a single nail was given," ATO chief for Western Mindanao Celso Bayabos told members of the City Council. He did not elaborate further.
Bayabos was invited by the City Council to find out the extent of damage of the runway at the international airport, which the local ATO chief has been complaining that needs an immediate and major repair.
The US Embassy spokesperson in Manila, Rebecca Thompson, has been insisting that the "US forces are here at the invitation of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) under the Visiting Forces Agreement.
But Bayabos said he was puzzled because US forces were expanding the structure they had built inside the airport within the Edwin Andrews Air Base (EAAB), though he said the expansion had the permission from the central office.
According to Bayabos, his office submitted a letter to the head of US forces here to do something about it, but instead of initiating actions like moving it (away), they even added some structures making it bigger now.
Meanwhile, local legislators here, during Thursday's regular session, questioned Bayabos why he is still allows huge US aircraft, such as C-17 military plane, to land despite the problem.
In response, Bayabos said they have issued advisories to all pilots to exercise extreme caution while landing in the international airport due to the presence of holes or craters in the runway.
Since 2002, US government have been deploying special forces to Zamboanga with a mission of training Filipino soldiers in fighting terrorists and implementing humanitarian projects on Sulu and Basilan.
American military aircraft have been using the city's international airport to transport personnel and equipment into the airport in support of the US mission to assist, train and advise Philippine military in its fight against the Abu Sayyaf and other domestic terrorist organizations.
There had also been frequent trips of huge US military aircraft, four times bigger than a C-130 cargo plane, using the Zamboanga international airport, aside from smaller military planes and helicopters.
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