House leaders on Wednesday expressed optimism that the issues that plagued the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) such as pest infestations and “tanim-bala” will be resolved once a private group takes over the airport’s operations and management.
At a news conference, Deputy Speaker David Suarez of Quezon welcomed the new management in NAIA and said he believes this is a “blessing” for the country.
“It’s a welcome development para sa ating bansa (for our country), ito pong kontrata na nakuha ng San Miguel group (the San Miguel group bagged the contract) to run and operate NAIA. I think it is a blessing for our country,” Suarez said.
“Nakita naman natin na isa po sa mga pinagkakaguluhan na destination ngayon sa Asya at maging sa mundo ay Pilipinas (We have seen that Philippines is one of the must-see travel destinations in Asia and even in the world). And we want to make sure that you know, when tourists, when Filipinos or wh ever comes to the Philippines, they are properly attended to with the best facilities,” he added.
Unfortunately, he said, NAIA needs major improvement, with all the surrounding controversy involving pests and the “tanim-bala” controversy that need to be addressed.
“I would like to congratulate, of course, Secretary Jaime Bautista on this initiative, together of course our President, President Bongbong Marcos. It will not only give better services to Filipinos but I think it’s a clear sign also for the rest of the country that the Philippines is moving toward the direction of being a first-class, world-class country when it comes to amenities and services,” Suarez said.
Davao Oriental Rep. Cheeno Miguel Almario said airports are a “subconscious benchmark” of any country.
“Now this contract in place, I don’t think na iyong daga or ano-ano bang mga small creatures lang iyong tinitignan dito, but it is the last impression of any tourist that enters. Kasi (Because) before anybody gets to surf, before anybody gets to enjoy our cuisine, the first thing that they have to go through is to the airport,” Almario said.
Assistant Majority Leader Francisco Paolo Ortega of La Union said that knowing the private corporation, it will do more than just address the pest infestation in NAIA.
“We know how San Miguel operates its facilities. I think everyone is excited with this development especially ang Philippines po kasi ay hot tourism destination pa rin (because it remains to be a hot tourism destination) with all the challenges that we are facing with the tourism facilities, iyong mga ports at saka yung mga destinations natin (its ports and the destinations),” Ortega said.
For Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong, any initiative or move to upgrade airport services is always a welcome development.
“I agree and I join the statements of my colleagues here na ang Pilipinas po (in the Philippines) we have so much to offer, not only manpower but we have untapped resources here and I’m talking about our tourist destinations.
First impression that you we would have is, kung yung pupuntahan mo na bansa, ay maganda iyong airport nila, di ba? (if the country you are going to, their airport is beautiful, right?)” he said.
“So, let’s make our future foreign tourists when they set foot here in the Philippines, let’s make it memorable for them,” Adiong said.
The same goes for House Assistant Majority Leader Raul Angelo Bongalon, who said anything negative that can be said to the country’s airports, can be said of the Philippines as well.
“We want to be remembered as one of the best airports in the world. So aalisin na natin ‘yung stigma na noong mga nakaraang taon lagi tayong napapasama sa may pinaka-worst airport in the world (So let’s get rid of the stigma that in the past years we were always associated with the worst airport in the world),” Bongalon said.
“So, with this, we are looking forward to and we are very excited about the best services that Miguel Corporation is going to offer. And that is something to be proud of as a Filipino.”
The San Miguel Corp.-led (SMC)-led group SMC-SAP has won the P170.6-billion contract to operate, maintain and upgrade the NAIA as announced by the Department of Transportation (DoTr) in February. The SMC SAP & Co. Consortium consists of San Miguel Holdings Corp., RMM Asian Logistics, Inc., RLW Aviation Development, Inc., and Incheon International Airport Corp..
The group is set to take over the operations and management of NAIA by September.