“CIAC IS proud to conceive of this project with the inspiration of the likes of the rising San Diego Sports Arena in California, as presented at the second Clark Technical Working Group on the Enhancement of the Utilization of Clark International Airport meeting.”
Sans an iota of remorse, all arrogance is the alibi to Arrey Perez, president of the Clark International Airport Corp., being caught red-handed in a virtual act of piracy – appropriating an image of Midway Rising – a mixed-use development in San Diego, California USA by SafdieRabines Architects – for the so-called planned Clark Arena “to be Taylor Swift-ready by 2028.”
CIAC’s pilferage was first called out by the country’s “premier architecture and design discussion group on Facebook,” Arki-Talk Pilipinas, subsequently going viral and landing a space in Punto! under the head Piracy becomes CIAC on July 14.
“There was no copyright infringement intended in the course of presenting the benchmarks of our project development process to like minds and peers among national leaders and private sector stakeholders,” CIAC continued in its FB post.
Pure Machiavellian goes CIAC here – “The end justifies the means.”
Inspiration and intention, in this instance, exculpating Perez’s piracy. Which, by no means hold any ground in logic or in law. And yes, ain’t it long been a truism that “the road to hell is paved with good intentions”?
If indeed, the “San Diego Sports Arena” formed part of the inspirations to the Clark Arena project, why was it not cited during Perez’s presentation? Why was the CIAC logo appended to its image used as the backdrop, without any reference to its origin?
And no copyright infringement “to like minds and peers among national leaders and private sector stakeholders” present during Perez’s presentation?
Piracy. Plagiarism. Infringement. Determined in the misdeed, not in the mind, Sir.
Still, CIAC may have spoken too early, if inclusively.
DOT disassociates from Perez
The Department of Tourism on July 14 clarified what it called an “erroneous information” going viral that, it said, wrongly attributed the image used in the presentation of Perez to Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco, who happened to be photographed seated in front of the pirated image during the presentation.
“Neither the DOT nor Secretary Frasco were (sic) involved in the creation or delivery of these plans made and presented by Mr. Perez,” the DOT said, asking CIAC to confirm its assertion.
The DOT’s disassociation from any involvement in Perez’s plans and presentation may be coming from Frasco’s own traumatic experience with a similar incident of viral piracy about same time last year.
July 2023 – the DOT generated global opprobrium with its tourism campaign video Love the Philippines using stock shots of rice terraces in Bali, sand dunes in the United Arab Emirates, and an aircraft landing in Switzerland passing them off as taken in the Philippines.
Incidentally, a DOT faux pas went virtual again this weekend with a travel poster at the NAIA mislocating the Banaue Rice Terraces in Benguet. The world wonder is actually in Ifugao.
As quick in apologizing for the misconduct of the ad agency DBB Philippines in its video campaign, the DOT has taken down the poster.
But not Perez. Bokya na, humihirit pa, as the tambay-kanto is wont to say.
Give it to this CIAC top honcho though. The enthusiasm with which he sells the Clark civil aviation complex eclipses those of his predecessors combined.
Ardent, Perez definitely is. But not exactly frank and honest, alas!
13 new flights at CRK
Only this February 2024, in an event in Taguig where he was the featured guest, Perez announced the Clark International Airport would introduce new local and international routes during the year. These, he said, included Taipei, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Narita, Macau, Cheongju, Coron, Bacolod, Iloilo, Davao, General Santos, Cagayan de Oro, and Puerto Princesa.
Perez’s announcement was lapped up in the national media – Clark airport to open up 13 new routes (PDI-Feb. 3, 2024), Clark airport to open 13 new destinations this year (Financial District-Feb. 3, 2024), Clark airport wants to double passenger volume to 4M in 2024 (PNA-Feb. 2, 2024), to name a few.
The editors should have known better than to oblige Perez’s canard. They could have easily clicked the same headlines and found that 25 days to a full year ago – Feb. 28, 2023 – Cebu Pacific expanded its operations at CRK with a combined 13 domestic and international flights: namely, Taipei, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Narita, Macau, Cheongju, Coron, Bacolod, Iloilo, Davao, General Santos, Cagayan de Oro, and Puerto Princesa.
The country’s leading airline even offered bookings on Feb. 27 to March 1, 2023, for as low as PHP1 one-way base fare, exclusive of surcharges and fees. Travel period is from April 21 to Oct. 29, 2023.
What Cebu Pacific already accomplished, Perez, in effect, brought back to the future. Where had he been all year? Clueless over what has long happened in his own backyard.
CIAC holds oversight functions on the CRK, which is actually operated and maintained by the private consortium LIPAD (Luzon International Premier Airport Development) Corp. Now, how can anyone expect CIAC to pursue even but a modicum of that mandate if its president is oblivious to facts as simple as the coming and going of flights at CRK?
Falsus in uno, falsus in omnibus. Deceitful in one, deceitful in all. In the two cases of Perez, falsus in duo too. If only for this, Perez makes proof positive of the utter irrelevance of CIAC in the grand scheme of things in Clark.
His antics, but an aggravation of that fact. Made more glaring vis-a-vis the highly tangible accomplishments of LIPAD, Clark Development Corp., and the Bases Conversion and Development Authority in transforming the former bastion of US imperialism in the Far East into an engine of national development and a gateway to the world.
