By Miriam G.Desacada
Borongan City–House Minority Leader Marcelino “Nonoy” Libanan is very pleased to announce the decision of Philippine Airlines (PAL) to open more weekly Cebu-Borongan-Cebu flights, starting Sept. 18.
“We are delighted that the flag carrier is increasing the frequency of its Cebu-Borongan-Cebu flights to thrice weekly, as this will give a boost to Eastern Samar as a tourism gateway,” Libanan said in a statement to the local media on Sunday.
In its travel advisory, PAL declared: “We will operate an additional weekly Cebu-Borongan-Cebu flight every Wednesday, beginning Sept. 18, 2024.”
PAL first launched its twice weekly Cebu-Borongan-Cebu flights on Dec. 19, 2022.
With the new additional flights, PAL will now operate three Cebu-Borongan-Cebu flights every week, or one flight every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
All Cebu-Borongan flights are scheduled to depart at 11:05 a.m. and arrive at 12:00 p.m., while all Borongan-Cebu flights are scheduled to depart at 12:30 p.m. and arrive at 1:20 p.m.
The flag carrier is currently the only airline that offers a convenient one-stop connection to Borongan from Manila, as PAL flights from Manila to Cebu enable travelers to take the Cebu-Borongan service for their onward journey.
“The additional PAL flights will surely push up inbound tourist traffic and help drive Eastern Samar’s economic growth,” Libanan said.
Borongan City is the capital of Libanan’s home province of Eastern Samar. It is now a rapidly growing tourist destination, particularly among foreign and local surfing enthusiasts and nature lovers, a situation that Libanan wanted to boost further.
Libanan said the Borongan Airport is now undergoing aviation infrastructure upgrades and ready to accommodate more flights, pointing out that Borongan is ripe for more economic development.
“In fact, Congress allocated P200 million in capital outlay to build up the Borongan Airport. This is itemized in the 2024 General Appropriations Law,” Libanan added.
Libanan is currently the 4Ps party-list representative in Congress. A lawyer by profession, he first served as vice governor of Eastern Samar, from 1992 to 1995. Then he represented Eastern Samar’s lone district in Congress for nine years from 1998 to 2007. —-Miriam G. Desacada