AND SO, hoping to do and sound good by, of and for Pangasinenses, her half-kabaleyans, President Arroyo went ahead and announced that an international airport will be constructed in Alaminos City, in western Pangasinan possibly within two years. Every pair of Pangasinense hands and feet at the Batasan clapped and stomped at the news that punctuated her State of the Nation Address last Monday, July 23.

Little did GMA know, some of the boys back home (and perhaps, some others in the audience too) were surprised and sulking over the bacon being tossed to Mayor Nani Braganza’s city instead of to their towns or other choice sites. With the announcement made by the Chief Executive no less before a nationwide audience, there was now little hope left for their individual dreams of building an airport in their own turfs materializing.

Santa Barbara’s Mayor Rey Velasco, Lingayen’s Jonas Castaneda, Rosales’ Nestor Revita and Mapandan’s Ferdinand Calimlim must have seen their dreams (for an airport) dashed in one fell swoop.

The economic and tourism planners obviously had their way; and in their bureaucratic minds, Alaminos, with its Hundred Islands to boast of, had more than even chance of succeeding with an airport than would any of the others, including the Capital Town of Lingayen. It’s, as they love to often mouth it, the ROI or return on investments that counts, not any historic or sentimental attachments.

What they and all Pangasinenses must not forget however is that the project is beneficial to the province as a whole. Alaminos, with an airport, will be simply serving as a gateway to any other place on Pangasinan soil that can bid and attract the investors’ and tourists’ dollars.

All it needs is creative imagination and scant resources put to maximum use for maximum benefits by the other local government units. Even now, with the airport still in the drawing boards, local leaders would do well to already factor the presence of an airport in their coming two, three, five, ten-year development plans.

That way they won’t be left behind when the first commercial planes finally come flying in.