ANGELES CITY – “Don’t wait for another, and an even bigger disaster at the airport in Metro Manila.”
Thus said the Pinoy Gumising Ka Movement (PGKM) as they warned the government of a “much worse disaster waiting to happen” following the crash of a converted cargo plane in Barangay Don Bosco, Better Living Subdivision, Paranaque City on Saturday.
The three people on board the Queen Air plane died and 10 others, including children, also perished in the crash near the lone runway of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminals 1, 2 and 3.
PGKM Chairman Ruperto “Perto” Cruz said “the antiquated airport needs to be decongested not just for comfort of passengers but moreso for the safety of residents living near the airport.”
Cruz said “knock on wood, I hope no more bigger disaster will happen as planes had to wait too long before they can land at NAIA due to air traffic.”
A report bsaid the NAIA had at least seven million passengers in 2010 when it could only accommodate about four million. It was voted this year as the worse airport in the world by an international group.
On December 5 or five days before the deadly crash in Paranaque, a continent-sized mass of cold air had crept down and enveloped the whole country bringing foggy conditions and poor visibility at the NAIA.
It caused the cancellations of most flights scheduled on that day beginning at 6:07 a.m.
Cruz said “it has been frequent for many years now that flights were diverted or cancelled due to the fogging in Metro Manila.”
He added that areas near the NAIA “are polluted and the other cause is smog and not just natural causes.”
Cruz said the PGKM “is not against the repair of the NAIA” as the Department of Transportation of Communication (DOTC) earlier announced the release of at least P1 billion for its rehabilitation next year.
However, Cruz maintained that with the runway and taxiway constricted and “beyond any expansion”, any refurbishing of the NAIA could only be “an exercise in futility, a waste of precious resources.”
Focus, should really shift on the Clark airport, Cruz said, with its modern twin runways and “all the room for expansion in its 2,500-hectare civil aviation complex.”
The Clark International Airport currently averages 80 international and local flights per week, mostly low-cost carriers..
Cruz cited international airports in Bangkok. Macau and Hong Kong which were transferred outside of the city.
“Not just in Asia but in most parts of the world, the in-thing now is removing the airport from the decongested capitals and bringing them just outside it, in a bigger area such as the case in Clark, Pampanga,” said Cruz, whose group had advocated the full operations of the CIA since the time of then President Ramos.
TAKE ADVANTAGE
Cruz said the government should “take advantage” of the interest of business tycoon Manuel Pangilinan in developing the airport.
“Not just because MVP (Pangilinan) is from Pampanga, but because his reputation as a businessman is ideal and impeccable,” said Cruz.
The PGKM chairman-businessman said the DOTC should push for the tracks of the fast train to be built along the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) linking Clark to Metro Manila. The highway is now controlled by one of the firms of Pangilinan.
“It’s a practical place to have our trains because it will save space and money for the government,” he said.
By Joey Pavia and Joey Aguilar
