House probe of bedbugs, roaches at Naia sought

Passengers wait for their flights at Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 in Pasay City. (File photo by RICHARD A. REYES / Philippine Daily Inquirer)

MANILA, Philippines — Rep. Marissa Magsino of the OFW Party List has called on her colleagues at the House of Representatives to launch an inquiry into complaints about the alleged infestation of bedbugs, roaches, and rats at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia), the country’s main gateway.

Magsino filed on Monday House Resolution No. 1615 urging the concerned committees to investigate, in aid of legislation, the latest controversy to hit Naia, this time, involving its pest control measures.

The resolution asked the House to look into the reported presence of pests and vermin at Naia’s Terminal 3, as well as traffic congestion within the airport complex and its vicinity, and long queues at immigration counters which “affect the convenience and health of traveling passengers, tarnish the image of the country to the international community and undermine the prospects of the local tourism industry.”

“We recognize that the officials of the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) immediately addressed the complaints on bedbugs, rats, and cockroaches in Naia,” Magsino said.

“However, given the repeated problems in Naia and its tag as one of the world’s worst airports, we have to look into the compounded issues, more so since Naia has revenues to address basic operational concerns such as sanitation and congestion,” she added.

MIAA’s net income

The lawmaker lamented that the country’s premier airport had long been hounded by problems while serving as the primary gateway for Philippine tourism and labor migration.

Magsino noted in Filipino that in 2023 alone, the MIAA’s net income from terminal fees, concession privileges and aeronautical fees stood at P3 billion.

“That’s why we are puzzled why sanitation and traffic congestion in the vicinity of Naia remain a big concern when we have enough operational funds,” she said.

READ: MIAA reviewing contracts with pest control, cleaning firms

The lawmaker said MIAA officials would be given the chance during the inquiry to explain and lay out their plan of action.

“In the end, we all just want to push for Naia’s competitiveness as an international gateway and safeguard the interests of passengers, especially our OFWs (overseas Filipino workers),” she said.

She emphasized the importance of undertaking immediate measures to address Naia’s maintenance and housekeeping issues, streamline immigration processing, and enhance traffic routing within the airport premises.

“There have been various passenger complaints concerning missed flights due to the long queues at the immigration counters during peak surges in passenger arrival and departure and due to prolonged processing by immigration officers, sometimes bordering on overstrictness in the implementation of guidelines and protocols,” Magsino said.

Review of service providers

On Saturday, MIAA Head Executive Assistant Chris Noel Bendijo told a radio interview that the agency might cancel its contracts with pest control and housekeeping service providers once they were found to have failed to do their job after an investigation.

He said he was assigned by MIAA General Manager Eric Ines to perform a thorough review of “all the contracts, obligations, proof of work and key performance indicators of our service providers.”