Davao-Manado flight launched

Davao-Manado flight launched

MANILA: President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo inaugurated on Wednesday the start of a regular weekly Philippines-Indonesia flight serving areas that Southeast Asian leaders have been trying to jointly develop.

Arroyo banged a ceremonial gong at an international airport in the southern port city of Davao to launch the maiden Air Philippines flight from that trading and tourism hub to Manado, Indonesia.

The service will complement Philippine cargo flights to Manado launched by another local company, Aboitiz One, in January, a government statement said.

The two countries, along with Brunei and Malaysia, started promoting economic growth in 1994 in neighboring provinces comprising the Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines- East Asean Growth Area, or BIMP-EAGA.

The area has been lagging economically, burdened by security problems from Muslim extremist guerrillas, pirates and smugglers. -- Dow Jones