Alvarez to CebuPac: 45-day deadline to move out of T3 ‘more than enough’

Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez (INQUIRER File Photo)

House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez on Thursday lambasted Cebu Pacific Airlines president Lance Gokongwei after the latter asked for at least a year to transfer the airlines’ domestic flight operations from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) Terminal 3 to help decongest the airport.

In an ambush interview in Bacong, Negros Oriental, Alvarez called Gokongwei “thick-faced” for focusing only on getting profit rather than looking after the welfare of the airline’s passengers.

“G*go iyang si Gokongwei. P******ina, ang iniisip lang nila profit,” Alvarez, former Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) official, told reporters.

“Paano naman yung welfare ng mga riding public? Hindi nila iniisip yun, ang iniintindi lang niya, profit. Ang kapal ng mukha…at the end of the year ipa-publish pa kung ilang bilyon ang kinita,” he said.

Gokongwei, however, explained that the airline needs at least a year to comply because Cebu Pacific had already sold tickets one year in advance.

But Alvarez said the 45-day deadline was “more than enough” for Cebu Pacific.

“Alam mo, computer na lahat ngayon. Kahit nga bukas puwede nang ilipat iyan. Ngayon ang problema daw nila, isa sa mga problema, ay nagbenta sila ng ticket na one year… Aba, problema na nila yun, hindi problema ng gobyerno yun,” he said.

At the House transportation committee hearing on Wednesday, Alvarez threatened to cancel the franchise of Cebu Pacific if the management would fail to address the issue on its operations.

The Speaker lamented the lack of space for airline passengers, particularly at T3, which was designed to accommodate international flights.

In an interview over DZMM radio earlier Thursday, Alvarez said: “Tingan mo yung Terminal 3, sobrang dami ng tao na nakaupo na sahig, nakahiga, wala nang maupuan kasi nga overpopulated ang terminal.”

He said that Cebu Pacific admitted during the hearing that the domestic traffic at T3 has already exceeded its capacity of 10 million passengers yearly.

“Ang capacity ng terminal, 10 million. Ang hinahandle niya, 20 million more or less kaya nagkakaroon tayo ng traffic sa runway at saka yung mga terminals natin, hindi na kayang i-

accommodate,” he said.   /muf