Mandurriao Airport, also known as Iloilo Airport during its operation, was the main airport serving the area of Iloilo City and the province of Iloilo in the Philippines. The airport was located five kilometers northwest of downtown Iloilo City in the district of Mandurriao. It was the fourth-busiest airport overall and the busiest domestic airport in the Philippines, accommodating over 700,000 passengers and over 5,000 tons of cargo in 2005. During the construction of the new Iloilo International Airport, it was also known as Iloilo-Mandurriao Airport. Having been in service since the 1930s, Mandurriao Airport has since been replaced by the Iloilo-Cabatuan/Santa Barbara International Airport, and subsequently decommissioned on June 14, 2007. A sprawling business district, known as Iloilo Business Park occupies the airport site.
History
Operational years (1937-2007)
Mandurriao Airport was built in 1937 and also served as a World War II airfield. The year 1981 saw the arrival of Pope John Paul II to the province of Iloilo as one of his stops during his 1981 Philippines visit, with the airport being used to facilitate his landing. The new passenger terminal was built in 1982. However, in the 1990s, problems in Mandurriao Airport began to rise due to the liberalization of the Philippine aviation industry and the rise of air travel in the country. The increasing incidents of terrorism in the Philippines forced aviation officials to restrict airport access only to passengers, the sealing of doors and windows at airport terminals being an essential component thereof. The terminal's architecture had posed problems for passengers, causing six to thirty three air-conditioning units to be installed but another barrage of problems hit the airport, which included outdated facilities, more poor passenger comfort, and others. Passenger complaints also focused on having their baggage manually checked due to the updated machines being for the sole use of Philippine Airlines. The airport complex likewise was located directly alongside major city thoroughfares, in particular the city's main highway, the Tomás Confesor Highway, which complicated the flow of traffic in and around the area. By 1995, Iloilo's provincial government and the Philippine National Government have agreed to a proposal of building a new airport outside of the city, selecting Cabatuan as the new airport site. The last flights served by the airport happened on June 13, 2007, prior to the opening of the current Iloilo International Airport.
Future development
Under Executive Order 282, an Asset Disposition Program was created to study the method of privatization of the property. Executive Order 360 devolved the chairmanship of this program to the Department of Finance. The Old Iloilo Airport property in Manduriao was scheduled for privatization by the first half of 2007. The city government views the successful privatization of this property as key to the revitalization of Iloilo City. As of 3 April 2007, 5 large Philippine real estate developers pre-qualified as bidders of the airport. These are Ayala Land, Empire East, Robinsons Land, Rockwell Land, and SM Prime. The Privatization Council set the minimum price for the 54 hectare property at P1.2 billion. The bidding for the Manduriao Airport was conducted on 9 May 2007. Among the pre-qualified bidders, only Robinsons Land, Empire East, and SM Prime Participated. The following table shows their respective bids:
Developer
Bid
Robinsons Land
P1,089 million
Empire East
P701 million
SM Prime
P436 million
The Old Iloilo Airport Bids and Awards Committee declared a failed bidding because no bid went above the minimum price. Thereafter, the BAC decided to enter into a Negotiated Sale process. The 5 pre-qualified bidders were then invited to participate. However, a member of the Privatization Council was adamant in keeping the P1.2 billion minimum price. Only Robinsons Land submitted a bid on the last day of the Negotiated Sale, 14 June 2007. It bid P908 million for the property. The BAC had no choice but to declare a failure on the Negotiated Sale. Unfortunately for the people of Iloilo and the local city government, some BAC members have no private sector experience and they do not see the logic behind RLC's lower bid. The BAC worked on lowering the minimum price of the property. However, some agencies have not consulted their principals on the minimum price that these principals are comfortable with. Months after battling technicalities, the bidding pushed through. Megaworld acquired the 54-hectare old Iloilo Airport site for Php 1.2 billion to be developed into a mixed-use residential and commercial complex. As of 2016, the airport grounds have become Iloilo City's central business district, named as Iloilo Business Park and is now home to several luxury hotels, condominiums, and various call center companies. The APEC Finance meetings in 2015 was hosted in the Iloilo Convention Center, which occupies the former site of the airport terminal. The former control tower of Mandurriao Airport is the airport's only surviving remnant and it serves as a monument to Iloilo's aviation history and Philippine aviation history. The structure also pays homage to Pope John Paul II, who used the airport on his Iloilo stop during his 1981 visit to the Philippines.
Airlines and destinations
The destinations of Mandurriao Airport before its closure.
