By ARGYLL CYRUS B. GEDUCOS
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.
In a late night public address Tuesday, 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,” he said.
“Art (Tugade), lagyan mo ng silya lahat ‘yan. Iyang restaurant diyan, kung ma-terminate mo contracts, terminate them because I need them to seat the passengers waiting,” he added.
The President criticized 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 ,” 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,” he said.
“I am not washing my hands. This is a failure of government — neglect,” he added.
