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Friday, March 29, 2024

What’s in a name?

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There is a proposal to revert the name of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport to its former name.

What’s in a name? Plenty—if it only brings back a grim reminder of a national shame that happened so many years ago. This is the assassination of former Senator Benigno Aquino Jr. who was shot dead at the airport tarmac in 1983. Aquino, popularly known as Ninoy, was shot in the back of the head as he stepped down from the stairs of a China Airlines flight that brought him home from Taipei after years of exile in Boston, USA.

Foreign visitors not familiar with this gruesome event have often asked who Ninoy Aquino was. Their next question: Why name your international airport after a man who was murdered cold-bloodedly by soldiers? Filipinos who are asked that question are just as puzzled . Not only is the name too long—uttered, it is a tongue twister. Because of this, it was shortened to its abbreviation of Naia.

Still Naia drew questions of who, what and why the killing happened. Aquino’s assassination remains one of the infamous unsolved murder of the century. It also marked the beginning of the end of former President Ferdinand Marcos’ Martial Law regime.

There are some who defend the renaming of the airport to an assassinated national figure. They cite the renaming of the Idlewild International Airport in New York to John Fitzgerald Kennedy airport which is now known as JFK in the airline industry. But then, JFK was assassinated in Dallas, Texas and not at the New York airport itself.

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Then, there are those who gave another meaning to MIA as Missing in Amenities for its rundown toilets, non-working air conditioning system, not to mention the petty extortionists, actually airport security personnel, who plant bullets in baggages, to shake down departing and arriving passengers.

I left and arrived at Naia’s Terminal 1 to spend the Christmas holidays in the States. To be fair, I was amazed at the changes and improvement undertaken by the airport authority and management. The toilets have been spruced up, with the flush and faucets working well, the entire flooring was retiled to match the squeaky-clean white walls. Some of the dividers at the arrival section were removed to give the area a sense of air and space.

Why the Noynoy Aquino administration and its Transportation and Communications Secretary Jun Abaya did not undertake the airport improvement early at the start of its six-year term remains a question. Even the elevated skyway from Naia’s Terminal 3, which goes to Diosdado Macapagal Avenue, is now used by motorists who find it a convenient alternative artery to avoid traffic around the airport and to Roxas Boulevard. The new skyway eased traffic congestion around Terminal 3.

Speaking of traffic and moving people, the first day of strike by jeepney drivers stranded many passengers but did not make as much impact to paralyze the commuting in Metro Manila. The drivers’ strike was triggered by the Land Transportation Franchise Regulatory Board’s decision to decongest the monstrous metro traffic by phasing out old and dilapidated passenger jeepneys. It is a wise move but as usual, anything that would decommission these dilapidated public utilities and affect people earning a marginal livelihood is sure to spark protests.

Again, this is a sad reflection on past administrations and government officials who did not foresee the problem of the increasing population in Metro Manila and the lack of roads. Without an effective mass public transport system, the people have no choice but to purchase private vehicles to get to work and bring their children to school. The Metro Rail Transit and the Light Rail Transit break down almost daily because of mismanagement and defective spare parts.

The MRT’s maintenance service contract was awarded to a company that did not have any track record of train repair. The contract was given to a relative of the MRT manager who is now facing graft charges for the anomalous deal. In every capital of the world including in nearby Hong Kong and Singapore, trains run on time and efficiently that one can set his watch by the trains’ schedule.

Once again, our train of thought is occupied by thoughts of train which the government owes every tax-paying citizen.

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