MANILA — The Marcos administration is proposing an additional ₱300 million under the 2027 national budget to push the completion of the long-awaited Bukidnon Airport in Don Carlos, with the government now targeting the facility for completion and eventual operations in 2027.
Executive Secretary Ralph Recto inspected the ongoing airport construction in Barangay Maraymaray, Don Carlos, Bukidnon, on September 4 and reiterated President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive to finish the project.
The proposed additional funding would bring the Marcos administration’s allocation for the airport to about ₱1.66 billion, from the ₱1.36 billion previously allocated since 2022. Overall government funding for the project has reached approximately ₱3.17 billion, according to the latest government figures.
“President Marcos wants the Bukidnon Airport completed by 2027 so it can begin creating jobs, attracting investments and bringing more tourists to the province,” Recto said.
A long-awaited gateway for Bukidnon
The airport is being developed to give landlocked Bukidnon a direct air gateway to major economic and tourism centers around the country.
The facility is designed to handle larger commercial aircraft, including aircraft in the Airbus A320 class, potentially allowing airlines to operate bigger planes and more routes once the airport becomes fully operational.
The planned facilities include a 2,100-meter-long and 45-meter-wide runway, two stub taxiways and a 43,050-square-meter apron capable of accommodating up to six aircraft.
A 3,600-square-meter passenger terminal is also planned, with a capacity of about 425 passengers, alongside a runway strip, airport support facilities and air-navigation infrastructure.
Recto said accommodating bigger aircraft and attracting more airlines could eventually help increase competition and potentially make air travel more affordable for passengers in the region.
From agriculture to tourism
Government officials are also looking beyond passenger travel.
Bukidnon is one of the country’s major agricultural producers, with products such as pineapples, bananas, corn, coffee, sugar and livestock forming a major part of the province’s economy.
A functioning airport could provide farmers, traders and businesses with another transportation option for reaching markets outside Mindanao, while also improving access for tourists and investors.
Recto described airports as more than transportation facilities, saying they can connect businesses to customers and communities to jobs, investments and essential services.
Why another ₱300 million?
The proposed funding comes as the government seeks to move the project toward completion after years of construction and multiple funding phases.
Earlier CAAP records show that the Bukidnon Airport project has been implemented in phases, including work on the runway, taxiways, apron, passenger terminal and related facilities. A Senate briefing in 2024 noted that billions of pesos had already been downloaded for the airport project and that Phases III and IV were still under implementation at that time.
More recent reporting also shows that construction and procurement activities continued into 2026. BukidnonNews reported in April that CAAP had opened bidding for another package of airport works as the government continued efforts to finish the facility.
That means the newly proposed ₱300 million should be viewed as additional funding being sought for the project’s completion, not as a fresh ₱300-million release already sitting in the airport’s coffers.
Completion target moves toward 2027
The latest statement from Recto places the government’s target for completing the airport in 2027.
This is significant because earlier 2026 reporting had pointed to completion and initial operations within 2026. The latest government announcement therefore represents an updated completion target as construction continues.
For Bukidnon residents, the bigger question is no longer simply whether the province will have a new airport — but when the long-running project will finally open its doors to regular passengers and airlines.
If completed and fully operational, the facility could reshape how people, agricultural products, tourists and investments move into and out of one of Mindanao’s most important agricultural provinces.
And with another ₱300 million now being proposed, the government’s next challenge will be turning the latest funding commitment into a finished airport that Filipinos can actually use.
WWC ONE MEDIA J.M.S
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