The Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) is set to review the contracts of its pest control and housekeeping units after two separate incidents of rat and bed bug infestations were reported at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).
MIAA Head Executive Assistant Chris Noel Bendijo said that Airport General Manager Eric Ines had ordered a review of the contracts to identify any lapses.
The food concessionaires were also reminded to maintain cleanliness and hygiene in their premises to avoid such incidents in the future.
“We’ll come up with an action plan on Monday to make sure na hindi ito maulit (this doesn’t happen again),” said Bendijo in an interview with ABS-CBN Teleradyo.
A number of air travelers took to social media to complain about being bitten by bed bugs on the benches in the departure area of NAIA Terminal 2. A few days later, another incident was reported, where passengers spotted a rat in Terminal 3.
Bendijo said replacing the service provider, however, may not be a simple task since it requires a bidding process like other government procurements.
“We understand that there are requirements being a government entity, so it’s not going to be simple as is to change the service provider. What we can assure you is that by Monday, we will revisit our cleaning process. What might happen is that just for the sake of compliance, what is provided may be topical. We will look at their track record to see if there were any lapses and act on their commitment moving forward,” he said.
MIAA General Manager Eric Ines earlier ordered the Terminal Managers to look into the matter and provide him with a report stating the circumstances surrounding the incidents and their recommended corrective actions to put an end to the problem.
The directive was also given for the conduct of comprehensive facility inspections and enhanced sanitation measures.
The airport management apologized to the affected passengers and assures them that a speedy resolution to this can be expected.
The seats identified in the reports have been pulled out permanently while disinfection schedules shall continue to be undertaken.
Senator Grace Poe said MIAA should conduct a deep cleaning of the airport to see to it that all nooks and crannies are free of pests.
“The bed bug infestation and reported sightings of rats may be untypical incidents, but in the bigger scheme of things could scare travelers and have a dent on our tourism,” she said.
“We hope there would not be glitches in the planned rehabilitation project of NAIA to rid it of all pests and give passengers only positive experience,” the senator added.