Senate President Juan Miguel “Migz” F. Zubiri Senate PRIB file photo / Bibo Nueva España
MANILA, Philippines – The heat is on airport authorities as passengers have reportedly suffered from broken air conditioning systems and other faulty facilities at the country’s gateways.
On Tuesday, three senators pressed authorities to address the malfunctioning facilities at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) and the airports in Iloilo and Cagayan de Oro provinces.
“There must be some sort of transparency and accountability pagdating dito sa mga airports natin. Siguro, I don’t want to say incompetent ang mga officials, but they have to work double time,” Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said in a press briefing in the Senate.
Zubiri recounted personally observing an elevator in Naia, which he said has not been working for several months already.
“Now, I heard the air-con is broken. I mean, my goodness, these are simple engineering feats na kaya pong i-outsource ng Naia,” he said.
He proceeded to lament the condition at the Cagayan de Oro airport, which he said was crowded when he last visited the province three weeks ago. He even described it as “dirty as a market.”
What is puzzling to the Senate leader is the delay in the transfer of the airport even after it has been long awarded to a private sector consortium.
Zubiri said he would file a resolution to have this delay and other problems in the country’s airports investigated.
“Kailangang magpaliwanag sila sa taumbayan (They need to explain to the public),” he said.
Aside from the Naia, Senator Grace Poe also directed the public’s attention to the same problems at the Iloilo International Airport which she said are causing inconvenience to passengers.
“Sa bawat airport, gusto nating bigyan ng warm welcome ang bawat byahero. Naging literal naman yata ang ‘warm’ sa Naia at Iloilo airport dahil parang pugon daw sa init ang loob nito dahil sa sirang aircon,” Poe said in a statement.
(At every airport, we want to give each traveler a warm welcome. However, it seems that the term ‘warm’ became literal at NAIA and Iloilo Airport because their interiors reportedly felt like ovens due to broken air conditioning.)
“We want to find out how the P190 million we have set aside in the 2024 budget is being utilized for the Iloilo airport’s repairs and maintenance,” added the head of the Senate committee on public services.
As the country continues to experience extreme weather condition, Poe reminded all the country’s airports “to beef up the maintenance of aircon, electricity and similar facilities to avert breakdowns and accidents.”
“Like our dream for all the country’s gateways, we want to make the Iloilo airport a world-class facility, offering comfort, convenience, and cutting-edge services to passengers,” she said.
Senator JV Ejercito, meanwhile, expressed confidence that the condition in Naia would finally improve once a consortium led by San Miguel Corp. SMC takes over the airport’s operations and maintenance.
“I’m positive that under RSA, who is a visionary, he will be able to improve and instill institute improvements as soon as possible sa mga airports,” Ejercito said in another interview, referring to SMC president Ramon Ang.