Barobo (Bahi) Airfield

Economic reasons. The airfield was a private, corporate airstrip built and maintained by PICOP, once the largest integrated wood and paper mill in Southeast Asia. The company faced severe financial difficulties, labor disputes, and a decline in viable logging resources starting in the 1990s, leading to a massive downsizing and eventual shutdown of its operations. With the collapse of the company, the airfield lost its sole purpose and funding, fell into disuse, and was subsequently abandoned.

The airfield is completely abandoned and non-operational. Satellite imagery and local reports confirm that the unpaved runway is heavily overgrown with grass and vegetation. Portions of the former runway are now used by local residents as an access road, a shortcut between villages, and a place for drying agricultural products like palay (rice grains). There is significant encroachment from surrounding vegetation and some informal agriculture. No aviation infrastructure, such as a terminal, hangar, or markings, remains.

Barobo (Bahi) Airfield was not a public or commercial airport. Its primary historical significance is as a vital piece of corporate infrastructure for PICOP. During its active years (roughly from the 1960s to the 1990s), it served several key functions:

- **Executive Transport:** It facilitated the rapid transport of company executives, engineers, and VIP guests between Manila/Cebu and the remote mill site in Surigao del Sur.
- **Logistical Support:** The airfield was used to fly in critical spare parts for the massive machinery at the paper mill and logging equipment, minimizing operational downtime.
- **Emergency Services:** It served as a crucial point for medical evacuations for company employees and their families living in the associated company town.
- **Operational Hub:** It was a base for light aircraft used for aerial surveys of PICOP's vast timber concessions.

The airfield was a symbol of PICOP's scale and influence, enabling a major industrial operation in a relatively isolated part of Mindanao.

There are no known official plans or credible prospects for reopening the Barobo Airfield. Several factors make its revival highly unlikely:

- **Lack of Economic Driver:** The primary economic engine (PICOP) that justified its existence is gone.
- **Proximity to Other Airports:** The region is served by other, better-equipped airports, including Tandag Airport (RPMT) and Bislig Airport (RPMF), which themselves have limited commercial traffic.
- **High Cost of Rehabilitation:** The airfield would require complete rehabilitation, including clearing, grading, and potentially paving the runway, as well as rebuilding all necessary support infrastructure to meet modern aviation safety standards.
- **Land Status:** The ownership and status of the land may be complicated following the dissolution of PICOP's main operations, posing a legal barrier to redevelopment.