A dedicated lounge for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) will soon be built at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3.
Cesar Chiong, general manager of the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) that operates NAIA, shared this development to congressmen during a recent briefing of the House Committee on Transportation.
Chiong said that the Overseas Filipino Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) have already come to an agreement on the matter.
"We met with the OWWA representatives, we've already identified the area sir and we're working on the project so matutuloy na po yun sir (so this will push through)," Chiong said during the interpellation of Zamboanga Sibguay 1st district Rep. Wilter Palma in the briefing Wednesday, Jan. 18.
Palma, in a previous panel briefing, asked the MIAA to set up amenities that OFWs--our so-called "modern-day heroes"--could use whenever they have to wait for flights, or if their flights get cancelled.
The Mindanao lawmaker welcomed the development and asked Chiong for a timetable on the OFW lounge.
"Magsa-submit po kami ng more detailed timeline sir (We will submit a more detailed timeline sir) after the detailed discussions with OWWA," the MIAA chief told Palma.
"Inuna lang po namin sir is yung area pati ho yung location (We just prioritized the area and the location) because we've identified the location to be near the government center," Chiong added.
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He said the lounge will be on the left side of Terminal 3, when one is facing the terminal.
OFWs were among those pestered by the New Year's day glitch at NAIA that caused over 400 international and domestic flights to be cancelled. The briefing, which was attended by aviation and transportation officials, discussed the recent airport crisis.