THE Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Terminal One is not simply a gateway to the Philippines. It is hallowed ground. Like Fort Santiago. And Bagumbayan. This is the where Ninoy Aquino demonstrated that the Filipino was worth dying for. It should be revered and cared for as devotedly as the sites of Jose Rizal’s incarceration and martyrdom.
Sadly, Terminal One, in its present state, is more appropriately branded, Ninoy Aquino International Embarrassment or NAIE.
It certainly does not deserve the neglect to which it has been subjected under several Philippine presidents, from Cory to Noynoy. And it most certainly does not deserve the desecration it has suffered under two successive heads of the Department of Transportation and Communication, Mar Roxas and Joseph Abaya.
Why Roxas and Abaya? Because these two, more than any other heads of DOTC, have been made acutely aware of Terminal One’s notoriety as one of the worst airports in the world. And these two, more than any other heads of DOTC, have vowed – short of swearing on a Bible – to do something about this international embarrassment.
In a government-issued (PIA) press release dated November 20, 2011, then DOTC Secretary Mar Roxas said, “… tanggapin natin ang reklamo at magsilbi itong hamon para mapabilis na ayusin ang dapat ayusin (we have to admit what complaints they have and treat these as challenge (sic) that will speed up what needs to be done for the airport).”
And yet, according to available records, Roxas allowed the diversion to the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) of P549 million, reportedly intended for the rehabilitation of NAIA. The funds, were inexplicably classified as “savings.”
Why was this done? At a Senate hearing on the DAP, Roxas’ DOTC successor, Joseph Abaya, admitted that the funds were diverted because, “On hindsight, now I see that the DOTC lacked the organization and personnel to push out these problems. It is only now that we have the opportunity to have the resources.”
Abaya’s rationalization was as bad as his grammar.
Mercifully, however, construction is now going on at Terminal One. Maybe – just maybe – before this president’s term ends, Abaya will manage to give Ninoy Aquino proper honor and respect by restoring to respectability the site of his martyrdom.
But, frankly, the current state of Terminal One offers little reason to be optimistic. This is because whoever is in charge of airport operations – apparently reporting to the DOTC secretary – must hold the record for laziness, stupidity and cluelesness.
My wife and I recently made a quick trip from San Francisco to Manila en route to Singapore. We flew out of Terminal One for Singapore and flew back into the same terminal a few days later. Frankly, it was reminiscent of the title of Lee Kwan Yew’s book on the story of his city-state: From Third World to First. Only, this time, it was back to Third World again.
Now, I’m not going to compare Manila with Singapore or our country’s international airport with Changi That would be an even more lopsided comparison than a Pacquiao-Algieri matchup.
But does it really require more than average intelligence, more than average competence and more than average diligence to provide the most basic requirements of an airport – an international airport, no less?
If Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez happens to read this piece, I’m sure he will agree with my commentary. I’m not sure, though, that anyone will listen to him if he were to take this up with Noynoy Aquino or Roxas and Abaya.
For starters, shouldn’t an international airport – or even just your average local airport – have enough lights and signage to make sure that people can easily find it?
Well, try locating Terminal One at night. You could swear DOTC is running a quiz show entitled, Find Terminal One If You Can.
I have had a home in the vicinity of Sukat Road in Parañaque for the past 46 years and should, logically, know where Terminal One is. But, while battling the blinding jeepney lights and being careful not to run over darting pedestrians and tricycles, I had to drive very carefully and keep my eyes peeled for landmarks to make sure I would not miss the entrance to Terminal One.
Yes, sir, Mon J – you who said that it’s more fun in the Philippines – there are NO BLASTED LIGHTS AND NO BLASTED SIGNS to indicate where Terminal One is. Surely it just takes average intelligence and average competence to understand how necessary lights and signage are. And does it take rocket science to install them? Good grief!!!
There’s more.
Try driving out of Terminal One at night and see if it’s not like joining the other DOTC quiz show, Make Your Way Out of Terminal One If You Can.
Yes, sir, Mon J, if it’s more fun being in the Philippines, it certainly is not fun driving out of Terminal One. THERE ARE ALSO NO DAMN LIGHTS AND NO DAMN SIGNS.
Sure, sure, Terminal One is undergoing renovation. But does it take more than an average sense of smell to realize that the place stinks? Have Abaya and the entire airport management team plugged their noses with cotton to keep them from smelling the pervasive odor of urine upon entering the check-in area? Or have they gotten so used to it that it already smells like perfume?
Sure, sure, Terminal One is undergoing reconstruction and, therefore, the waiting areas are not as comfortable as they should be in an international airport.
Let’s not even talk about Taoyuan International Airport in Taiwan, where there are sections for meditation while you’re seated in massage-dispensing easy chairs, piped in music caressing your senses. But for heaven’s sake, isn’t it scandalous to have passengers sitting on the floor outside the airline gate, while waiting for it to open? Can’t those idiots managing Terminal One at least provide temporary benches?
Make no mistake. Not everyone in our country is incompetent. I spent many decades in advertising in Manila and had the privilege of working with local and multinational companies that were the epitomé of efficiency. Nearly everyone I dealt with was Filipino. And, by the way, Pinoy managers and executives are in great demand in Singapore, Hong Kong and the rest of Asia.
What I cannot understand is why otherwise competent and efficient executives in the private sector become nincompoops and paragons of laziness and sloth the moment they get conscripted into government service.
Or is this phenomenon unique to DOTC?
At any rate, I would like to suggest to the president that, as long as Terminal One continues to be in the decrepit state it is in, he should have it temporarily renamed Manuel Roxas International Airport or Emilio Aguinaldo International Airport.
Perhaps that will rouse the noble ancestors of Mar Roxas and Joseph Emilio Aguinaldo Abaya from their graves to haunt them.
Only after Terminal One has been upgraded to an acceptable level of respectability should Aquino have it named after his father again.
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