Senator Grace Poe expressed her dismay anew at the recent power outage that hit the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), the third to happen in the past six months, saying the incident could have been done by somebody on purpose.
Senator Grace Poe (Senate PRIB Photo)
As of posting time, the informal updates relayed by the Manila International Airport Administration (MIAA) point to human error during the ongoing energy audit by contract MSERV, a wholly subsidiary of Manila Electric Corp. or Meralco.
“The most recent power outage in NAIA once again shows the need for urgent power augmentation while a full electrical audit is ongoing. Regardless of duration, power outages in the country's main gateway are enough to cause a domino effect of flight delays, passenger confusion, and reduced business,” Poe said in a statement on Friday, June 9.
“The MIAA management must exercise technical oversight so these human errors are minimized. These series of power outages also happened during peak travel dates - New Year, Labor Day, and now the Independence Day Long Weekend - when the airport is packed with people. Nagkataon lang ba o sinasadya na (Was it by chance or done on purpose)?” the senator pointed out.
The power outage hit NAIA Terminal 3 at 12:15 p.m. on Friday. According to airport officials, the generators started at 12:30 p.m. Electricity was restored by 1:29 pm.
Poe recalled that during the May 1 power outage, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said that the agency is already working with the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) and other authorities to explore the possibility of a sabotage.
“This report remains to be seen,” she said.
“It also remains unclear why the electrical plan of NAIA Terminal 3, among other important building plan documents, has not been turned over by the contractor despite the government having already paid the just compensation,” the lawmaker added.
Poe, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Public Services said the DOTr should consider adding generators and providing comfortable waiting areas to passengers especially to the elderly and those with medical conditions at the moment.
“Sa init din ng panahon ngayon, kasama dapat ang water at snacks sa care kits na agarang mabigay sa mga pasahero (In today's hot weather, water and snacks should be included in the care kits that are immediately given to passengers),” she said.
She also said that even if NAIA’s privatization is being explored, there is no excuse for airport officials “to drop the ball.”
“MIAA should implement proper maintenance and contingency plans to prevent any future outages and travel disruptions. There should be comprehensive responses for all emergency scenarios. Any audit or improvement needs to be planned ahead of time,” the senator reiterated.