ANGELES CITY – “Where can you find a fence that costs more than the house? Only at the Clark International
Airport (CIA).”
This was the question and answer posed by the Pinoy Gumising Ka Movement (PGKM) as it lambasted what it called the redundancy of the proposed construction of a P400-million double security high-tech fence that will soon enclosed the 2,200 hectares area of the CIA.
Ruperto Cruz, PGKM chair, said the construction of the expanded CIA terminal only cost P360 million based on its press releases. But just recently, he said, the CIA came out with another announcement that its fence will cost more at P400 million which is hard to imagine.
Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) vice president for operations Reynaldo Catacutan said earlier that the construction of the fence will begin on January 2 next year primarily “toward off informal settlers.” He described it as a “double security fence” which will be about “25 kilometers enclosing the whole airport complex” with a “perimeter intrusion detection system.”
Cruz noted that CIAC officials have lost their sense of priority since they will be spending for another project that has no immediate impact on the airport because it has an existing fence already. “On top of that, there is the security force guarding the airport,” Cruz said. “Are they that inutile to need a more expensive fence?”
“This is absurd,” Cruz said expressing concerns that that CIAC President-CEO Victor Jose “Chichos” Luciano may just be “serving as a pawn for some vested political interests” directed at 2016.
“The announced P7.2-billion for a low- cost carrier terminal at Clark by (Department of Transportation and Communications Secretary Joseph Emilio Aguinaldo) Abaya first, and now this P400-million may – in the reality of the PDAF funds scuttled and the DAP funds rationalized – can be alternative sources of campaign funds,” Cruz said.
Instead of coming out with “grand schemes” Cruz said Abaya and Luciano should focus on how to retain airlines that are already in Clark by improving airport conditions which have a direct impact on airline operations.
He said efforts should have been exhausted in convincing Philippines’ Air Asia, AirPhil Express and the other airlines, to stay in Clark.
But he noted that only a good manager can do that “which Luciano is not.”
