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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Duterte wants NAIA terminals cleared of some restaurants to provide space for stranded passengers

Duterte wants NAIA terminals cleared of some restaurants to provide space for stranded passengers

Published Jul 1, 2020 08:29 am

President Duterte has ordered Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Arthur Tugade to remove some of the restaurants at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) terminals to provide more space for stranded passengers.

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte holds a meeting with the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) core members at the Malago Clubhouse in Malacañang on June 30, 2020. (SIMEON CELI JR./PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)

In his late-night public address on Monday, the President said it has been bothering him to see on TV photos and videos of stranded airline passengers sleeping in waiting sheds and sidewalks near the airport.

He ordered Tugade to terminate the contracts of the restaurants, particularly those serving expensive food, and place more seats to accommodate the passengers.

"Makita mo walang upuan. Kakaunti ang upuan tapos ‘pag na-delay ang flight, wala na, tindigan na lahat. Sa labas may mga restaurant, ang lalayo ng table. Eh ilan lang man ang gumagamit, ‘yung may pera lang (You'll see there are only few available seats so when there's a delayed flight, passengers will be left to stand. There are some restaurants outside NAIA where tables are very far from one another. Only the well-off ones are using them)," he said.

"Art (Tugade), lagyan mo ng silya lahat ‘yan. Iyang restaurant diyan, kung ma-terminate mo (Put seats there. The restaurant there, if you can terminate their) contracts, terminate them because I need them to seat the passengers waiting," he added.

The President blasted the design of NAIA, which was made by various architects, for not having enough space for seats to accommodate passengers waiting for their flights.

"'Yang airport na ‘yan, kung sinong nag-design niyan, sabihin mo sa kanya, walang upuan. Iilan lang ang upuan (Whoever designed that airport tell him there's no seats, only a few of them)," he said.

According to Duterte, NAIA Terminal 1 can serve as the major waiting area for passengers before they are shuttled to their boarding areas.

He said he is partly to be blamed for the problem even though it has existed for years already.

"This is a classic case of government and I must admit inabot ko ang problema o ‘di kasali ako (it caught up to my term so I'm at fault as well)," he said.

"I am not washing my hands. This is a failure of government --- neglect," he added.

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