PRESIDENT Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. graced the grand opening of a new terminal building of the Clark International Airport in Mabalacat City in Pampanga on Wednesday, September 28, 2022.During the event, Marcos cited in his speech the importance of the public-private partnership (PPP) in terms of making such a major infrastructure project possible.“Ito ‘yung aming laging pinag-uusapan na PPP (this is what we always speak of when we say PPP). How do we leverage the assets of the government? How do we leverage the assets of the private sector? How do we put it together and get a synergy out of it?” he said.“This is a perfect example of what government and the private sector can do. And makikita mo kung private sector lang ang gumawa nito, hindi nila kinaya. Kung gobyerno lang ang gumawa, hindi rin kinaya ito. (And you can see if only the private sector did it, they couldn’t handle it. If only the government did it, it couldn’t handle it either.) And that is why this is a perfect example of that. And I think it will serve to encourage other people to enter into this kind of arrangement,” he added.Marcos said the opening of the facility will boost the country’s tourism sector and will send signals to the world that the country is open for business.“We have another airport kung saan makapasok ang mga turista, ang mga travelers. Not only the business — nagbubukas — the business travelers, those who are working but also those who are visiting the Philippines,” he said.The President said the government has many plans for the airports in Manila and nearby provinces to encourage more tourists and businessmen to visit the country.He said the airports outside Metro Manila, such as Cebu, Cagayan de Oro and Davao, should also be fully utilized.The new Clark Terminal is a joint project of the Department of Transportation and the Bases Conversion and Development Authority, which will be operated by the Luzon International Premiere Airport Development Corp.It is the first hybrid public-private partnership under the “Build, Build, Build” (BBB) program that was started and completed during the Duterte administration. (SunStar Philippines)