Passengers wait outside the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 during a blackout on Saturday night. Electricity was restored before dawn yesterday. The STAR/ Bernardo Batuigas
MANILA, Philippines – Four senators expressed dismay over the five-hour power outage that hit the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 Saturday evening.
Sens. Miriam Defensor Santiago, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., Nancy Binay, and Ralph Recto described the blackout that led to canceled and delayed flights for thousands of passengers as “unacceptable.”
“Hindi katanggap-tanggap ang ganitong mga pangyayari sa ating mga paliparan lalu na’t isang mahalagang serbisyo ito na nakataya ang seguridad ng bansa,” Binay said.
Recto shared the same sentiment saying that the government has the adequate budget to improve airport facilities. He noted that the NAIA “is a major collection point of tax,” citing the P3.5 billion terminal fee collected from passengers. He said this is enough to maintain the electrical system of the airport.
“NAIA is in the black. So there should be no blackout. This ridiculous incident is simply unacceptable. Government has billions of pesos to spend for improvement of airport facilities. Kaya ang NAIA ay hindi barangay hall or presinto ng pulis na maaaring maputulan ng kuryente. May pondo nga ito para makapagtayo ng sariling mini-power plant,” Recto said.
“‘Yung P3.5 bilyon na terminal fee na lang nang mga pasahero ay sapat na para i-maintain ng maayos ang electrical system ng NAIA, maging ang mga aircon nito para hindi ‘It’s more fan in NAIA 3,’” he added.
Santiago agreed with Recto and suggested her infrastructure agenda to develop a modern international airport and reallocate some of flights to the airport in Clark as a remedy to congestion.
“The runways are perpendicular to each other, barring planes from using one runway when the other is in use. If NAIA will be expanded, we must build runways parallel to each other,” Santiago said.
“In the meantime, it would be wise to reallocate some flights to the airport in Clark, which is currently underutilized. Clark Airport should complement and not necessarily replace NAIA,” she added.
Both Santiago and Binay on the other hand chided the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) and the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) for mishandling the power glitch.
Binay criticized the DOTC and MIAA for passing the blame on Meralco when they should be the one prepared in cases of emergency. Meanwhile, Santiago said the MIAA did not work as it should thus causing inconvenience to travelers.
“Maraming mga pasahero ang napabalitang ninakawan at walang konkretong ginawa ang pangasiwaan ng NAIA-3 na tugunan ang kaguluhan. A simple sorry is not enough to cover the passengers’ inconvenience,” Binay said.
“The Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) seems eager to regain the ‘world’s worst airport’ title which it lost only in 2015, not only for inconveniencing passengers, but for not working as it should,” Santiago said.
Meanwhile, Marcos dismissed all proposals to conduct an investigation on the five-hour power interruption saying there is no need to probe something that is already very obvious to everyone. He added that the incident only showed the incompetence of the airport management.
“Hindi na kailangan ng imbestigasyon yan, maliwanag na hindi nila ginagawa ang trabaho nila” he said.
Marcos lamented how authorities were not ready for electrical problems despite an airport being a “critical facility.”
“Hindi na kailangan ng paliwanag diyan (kasi) maliwanag na kailangan ng generator na nakahanda. It is a safety issue. Kung mamatay ang kuryente, halimbawa sa tower, wala silang mabibigay na instruction sa mga eroplanong gustong lumanding,” he said.
“Nagsimula na at tag-araw na, matagal nang pinag-uusapan na baka magkaroon na nga ng brownout. Hindi ko naman maintindihan bakit ang airport natin, which is a critical facility ay hindi nakahanda at wala silang generator. Dapat may ready na generator. Andami-daming generator ng gobyerno e bakit hindi sila humiram kahit habang summer?,” Marcos added.
The blackout started at 8:45 p.m. on Saturday and lasted until 2:00 a.m. on Sunday. MIAA said it was caused by a Meralco substation that tripped.
RELATED: Power restored at NAIA Terminal 3 | NAIA-3 blackout strands thousands: 82 flights cancelled
Senators say NAIA blackout is 'unacceptable' – #JHedzWorlD
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