CLARK FREEPORT ZONE — Is the Bureau of Immigration (BI) part of a conspiracy not to develop the Clark International Airport?
This is the question that cropped up as the advocacy group Pinoy Gumising Ka Movement (PGKM) expressed dismay over the “apathy” of the bureau in catering to departing and arriving passengers at the Clark airport.
The BI seemed indifferent to the growing number of passengers that line up in the immigration desks at Clark airport, said PGKM chair Ruperto Cruz said. “This is totally absurd especially when you see the long queues while some BI personnel are just chatting nonchalantly on the sidelines during peak volume for departing passengers.”
Cruz also observed that during arrivals, the queues extend all the way to the airport tarmac while BI personnel are again unmindful of the chaos.
“What are they doing? They (BI) should be manning their desks or maybe even add extra booths to accommodate the volume of passengers,” Cruz said. “Why has this problem remained unresolved?”
Clark airport caters mostly to low-cost carriers which underscores the importance of aircraft turnaround.
Any delay in passenger-loading because of the long queues in the immigration counters will be a bane to the airlines and the passengers, he said.
But nobody wants to accept the blame, Cruz said. “The Clark International Airport Corp (CIAC) and the BI should stop passing the buck and finally decongest the long queues.”
Cruz said Immigration Commissioner Ricardo David, who ironically is a Kapampangan from the City of San Fernando, should prove that the BI which he heads is not part of a conspiracy not to develop the Clark airport.
“With the standstill at the immigration booths, it looks as if the BI is taking part in sabotaging the development of the Clark airport to kowtow to the interests of taipans out to uphold Imperial Manila, at all cost,” Cruz said.
Cruz lamented that the Clark airport appeared to have been “left out” in the thrust of the government to develop all airports in all tourism areas.
This is even published in newspapers that the government aims to develop regional airports and their related infrastructure throughout the country especially in areas where tourism is the primary industry.
“But not Clark,” Cruz said, “when it should even be given the top priority as it serves as an alternate airport to the NAIA (Ninoy Aquino International Airport).”
He added: “While the other regional airports slated for development are merely “seasonal” catering to tourists only during peak season and serve only their province while Clark airport services four regions and serves as an alternate airport throughout the year especially during the typhoon season.”
“Plus, there is investment here,” Cruz said citing the importance of Clark in the development of Central and Northern Luzon.
