Duterte inaugurates projects in Port of Zamboanga

ZAMBOANGA CITY: President Rodrigo Duterte arrived late Thursday afternoon in this southern city and inaugurated various projects at the Port of Zamboanga.

Duterte, accompanied by Sen. Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go, was briefed by Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade at the port. He also looked at photographs of completed and current projects of the Department of Transportation before proceeding to a hall where government officials led by Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco-Salazar were waiting.

Climaco-Salazar welcomed and thanked Duterte for all the infrastructure projects the national government poured not only in Zamboanga, but in other parts of the Western Mindanao region.

The mayor, the current chairman of the Regional Development Council and Regional Peace and Order Council, also asked Duterte to retain or add more security forces in Zamboanga. In 2013, Moro National Liberation Front members loyal to Nur Misuari laid siege to the city, which lasted several weeks and displaced nearly 300,000 people.

Climaco-Salazar, on her third and final term as mayor, nearly broke down at the end of her speech while praising Duterte’s leadership and thanking him for all his support to Zamboanga under her administration.

Tugade said with the completed works, the Port of Zamboanga can now accommodate 3,500 passengers at any given time and even surpass the passenger capacity of the Port of Cagayan de Oro City in northern Mindanao.

“Development projects at the port include the establishment of an inclusive prayer room, food court and elevators,” he said.

He said the Port of Zamboanga developments are envisioned not only to enhance and address maritime mobility and connectivity in the province and nearby areas, but to serve as a catalyst for socioeconomic, tourism and livelihood opportunities in the entire Mindanao region.