Medellin celebrates 138th Charter Day: Mondigo looks forward to having own airport, seaport

Medellin Mayor Joven Mondigo Jr. addressed town officials and employees during the celebration of their 138th Charter Anniversary held earlier today, September 9. | Photo grabbed from the Municipality of Medellin Facebook page

CEBU CITY, Philippines — After years of relying on farming as their main source of revenue, the municipality of Medellin in northern is looking forward to becoming an economic and industrial zone equip with its own airport and seaport.

Mayor Joven Mondigo Jr. shared his dream to town residents and government workers during their celebration of the town’s 138 Charter anniversary held earlier today, September 9.

Having industries in Medellin, a second class municipality located 116 kilometers north of Cebu City, is expected to provide a more stable income source for his constituents, Mondigo said.

“We are a sugar bowl but the production of sugarcane now has become low and the prices are volatile. We are trying to create more stable opportunities for our people,” Mondigo said in an interview with CDN Digital.

A bill authored by former fourth district representative Benhur Salimbaangon that seeks to declare their town as an economic zone was already before the House of Representatives.

Mondigo said that the establishment of an airport and seaport in their area is expected to further advance their growth and development.

A P47-million seaport project funded by the Cebu Port Authority (CPA) in the town’s center has already started construction. Mondigo said the seaport, which will service vessels going to Bantayan Island, Masbate province and Biliran may already start operation by mid 2020.

He added that preparations are now on its way for the planned establishment of an airport on a 10-hectare lot in Barangay Caputatan Sur.

Mondigo said that the municipal government has already paid P3 million for the lot.

All that he needed to do was to coordinate with the Mactan Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA), the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Cebu provincial government to already start planning for the proposed airport.

“These are big and ambitious dreams but not impossible,” Mondigo said. | dcb