Airport workers honored, admonished

GOOD DEEDS Airport employees display the citations they received for their commendable work at various international airports in Manila. Also in photo is Manila International Airport Authority General Manager Jose Angel Honrado. PHOTOS COURTESY OF MIAA MEDIA AFFAIRS

BEING GRADED poorly by a Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) official was probably the last thing airport workers expected in a ceremony intended to honor their good deeds.

Among the awardees during Monday’s flag-raising ceremony were a security guard who returned a trolley bag containing $3,025 (approximately P144,000) and P53,000 in cash; two maintenance workers who turned over bags with nearly P250,000, also in cash; and a security screening officer, who helped intercept a passenger carrying 500 grams of “shabu” (methamphetamine hydrochloride).

The MIAA senior assistant general manager, Vicente Guerzon Jr., took the commendation ceremony for over 70 employees as a chance to deliver his valedictory, including his evaluation of what happened at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) in the past five years.

Guerzon’s stint ended along with that of MIAA General Manager Jose Angel Honrado, an appointee of President Aquino.

‘Barely passed’

On a scale of 1 to 10, Guerzon gave the attitude and work ethic of Naia employees a “3.”

“Barely passed,” he said in his speech, clarifying that it was his own assessment of developments at the airport in the past five years.

“I have barely five months, or to be exact 151 days, to be with you. This is my last opportunity to deliver a message,” Guerzon said.

He categorized workers into three groups: Those willing and able; very able but unwilling; and unwilling and unable.

Guerzon explained that those willing and able “love the job and are committed to it and have passion for MIAA.” They are reliable workers, he said.

The second group of “very able but unwilling” are “competent but their motivation for work is personal and selfish,” he said.

“They work for their own good, own interest and to cover their tracks,” he said.

Guerzon said that the last category were the fence-sitters—those who go with the flow of things and care nothing for Naia.

“It is up to you to choose which group you belong to,” he told the MIAA workers.

In giving his “3” rating, Guerzon explained that the “majority of MIAA personnel have the propensity to procrastinate.”

While the workers received a generally poor grade, he was all praise for the development of facilities, infrastructure and operations at Naia—to which he gave a “9” for “excellent.”

He assessed overall the MIAA’s performance in the past five years as an outstanding “8.”

‘We survived’

In his message and basic appraisal of Honrado’s leadership, Guerzon put it in two words: “We survived.” Then he thanked the workers for making his stint at MIAA memorable.

At Monday’s commendation ceremony, less than half of the 79 awardees—most of them security guards, shuttle drivers, maintenance workers, Office for Transportation Security (OTS) personnel and public affairs office employees—were present.

Among those cited were security guard Wilson Bagarra, assigned at Naia Terminal 1, who returned a trolley bag with nearly P200,000 in dollars and pesos left behind on Jan. 8 at the arrival area; and Jennilyn Cruz, a janitress at Terminal 3, who turned over a sling bag containing P96,060 in cash and a computer tablet which she found on Dec. 4 last year.

Also cited was janitor Christian Almoguera, assigned at Naia Terminal 4, who recovered on Dec. 28, 2015, a pouch with 350,000 yen (approximately P138,000) and P19,000 in cash from the departure area and who gave it back to its owner.

Similarly cited was a security screening officer, Adrin Tampoco, of the OTS, who helped catch last Dec. 9 a departing passenger with 500 grams of shabu in his baggage at the initial security checkpoint of Naia Terminal 3 departure area.