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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider PH Army provides temporary shelter to 124 stranded passengers in NAIA

PH Army provides temporary shelter to 124 stranded passengers in NAIA

Published Jun 13, 2020 12:00 am
By Martin Sadongdong At least 124 stranded passengers who were staying at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in Pasay City were brought by the Philippine Army to its military headquarters in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City on Saturday. The Locally Stranded Individuals who were staying along the road near NAIA Terminal 3 now stays inside the Philippine Army Wellness Center (PAWC) in Taguig City as they wait for available transportation to their provinces on Saturday. 128 individuals who were stranded along Sales Bridge near Villamor Airbase were transportrr via military vehicles. They also underwent precautionary measures as part of the COVID19 health protocols. Photo by Jansen Romero The Locally Stranded Individuals who were staying along the road near NAIA Terminal 3 now stays inside the Philippine Army Wellness Center (PAWC) in Taguig City as they wait for available transportation to their provinces on Saturday (JANSEN ROMERO / MANILA BULLETIN) Lieutenant General Gilbert Gapay, Army spokesperson, ordered his men to provide temporary shelter to the stranded passengers as they wait for their flights. The passengers were ferried to the Army Wellness Center Gymnasium where they were also given free meals, said Colonel Ramon Zagala, Army spokesperson. "We will escort them back to NAIA once their flights are already confirmed," Zagala said in a radio interview over DZBB. "We set up a mobile kitchen so they won't get hungry while they are staying in our gymnasium. We also have health personnel on standby just in case they need immediate medical attention," he added. Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the Philippine Air Force (PAF) has been utilizing military planes to escort the LSIs to their home provinces. Aside from PAF transport planes, the Department of Transportation has also deployed buses to bring home the stranded passengers. However, Lorenzana appealed to the stranded indiviuals not to go to NAIA if they don't have the confirmed schedules of their flights so as to avoid overcorwding in terminals that could possibly lead to coronavirus disease (COVID-19) infection. "These people are trapped because of the COVID-19 lockdown. They are from the province who have booked flights here in Manila but due to the lockdown, their flights were cancelled," Lorenzana explained. "When they learned that the PAF has been offering free plane rides, they all rushed here to take their chance. But that should not be the case. They should not leave their homes or hotels where they temporarily stay because we only have a few planes and we cannot accommodate them all," he said. "For the stranded passengers, do not go to the airport if you have no confirmed flight. There are no facilities in the airport where you can stay while waiting for your flight," he added. Some of these passengers are locally stranded individuals (LSIs) who got stuck in Metro Manila due to limited transportation while a general community quarantine (GCQ) remains in effect. Others are Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) applicants who missed their flights, lost their jobs abroad, and just wanted to go back home to be with their families. There were passengers who were forced to sleep underneath an expressway for days while waiting for their chance to board a flight back to their home provinces.
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