LEGAZPI CITY – The development of the proposed Bicol International Airport (BIA) at Brgy. Alobo, Daraga, Albay is expected to move faster with the appointment of Daraga Mayor Cicero Triunfante as chairman of the Special Technical Working committee (STWC) vice Airport Manager Prisco St. domingo of the Air Transportation Office (ATO) who remains as vice chairman.

        Board member Neil Monatallana, chairman of the Technical Working and Communication (DOTC) has already finished the detailed engineering design and the parcellary survey.

        “We have started the appraisal of lots that will he occupied by the BIA but we are encountering some problems on the valuation,” Montallana said.

        He said that the two groups had committed that they would finish their tasks before the first week of December 2008.

        The national government will purchase 181 hectares from landowners in the barangays of Gapo, Alobe, Burgos and Del Rosario, but 10 hectares of which are indented for relocation of the affected residents. The runway will extend from Brgy. Bascaran to Brgy. Burgos, Montallana said.

        He explained that only P85 million out of the P250 million released by the national government will be used to purchase lots.

        If the two groups fail to negotiate with the landowners to sell their lots, the government can resort to expropriation. In that case, the landowners would be disadvantaged because the government will deposit only 15 percent of the appraised value of the land while the case is being her heard in court, Montallana pointed out.

        Recently, Mayor Triunfante presided over a meeting of the acquisition as some land owners what to sell their properties at higher appraise value.

        Montallana said however, that the value of the property offered for sale to the government will depend on the zonal valuation made by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) and the Land Bank (LB).