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| More than 100 slept outside terminal 2 after failing to board a flight back to Mindanao (ABS-CBN photo) |
About a thousand Filipinos who have been stranded in
Metro Manila since the lockdown was imposed in mid-March have flocked to the Ninoy Aquino
International Airport
About 150 of them had to sleep overnight outside terminal 2 of the airport, when the free flight to Mindanao that they had hoped to catch yesterday, Jun 4, did not materialize.
All of those without confirmed tickets no earlier than three
hours before their scheduled flights were not also not allowed in, and were thus forced
to stay outside amid the searing heat.
They said they went to the airport after being told by
someone in their group that there would be free flights to Visayas and Mindanao.
But Administrator Hans Cacdac of the Overseas Workers
Welfare Administration said the sweeper flights are only being offered free to
overseas Filipino workers.
“We are coordinating their sweeper flights pauwi, pero hindi
po necessarily OWWA ang gagastos kasi hindi sila OFW,” said Cacdac in a TV
interview.
He said the recruitment agency should have arranged for the
flights home by the job applicants. The case will be reported to the Philippine
Overseas Employment Administration for proper action against the recruiter.
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| Many had gone to the airport, only to be told at the last minute that their flights were cancelled (GMA News photo) |
But not all who were at the airport were there for free
flights.
Myra Demesa said in her post on the Facebook page of NAIA
that her group had gone to the airport with confirmed tickets via AirAsia for
Jun 1. But when they got to the airport, they were told that their flight had
been canceled.
“On the day of our supposed flight, di na kami umalis ng
airport. Kasi nga sabi Jun 3, Jun 1 po dapat ticket naming. So imbis suungin na
naman namin yung pabalik sa boarding house – mind you, two hours kaming
naglakad kasi walang masakyan – nag stay kami, hoping na matutuloy yung Jun 3.”
But there was no flight again on Jun 3, so they went to
terminal 3 to try to talk to an airline representative, but they were barred
from entering.
They managed to speak with the airline supervisor when the
airport authority heard of their plight, and they have been rebooked for
tomorrow, Jun 6. But even that came with a warning that it could be cancelled
again.
In a separate post, she said: “Kami na bumili ng sarili
naming ticket para makauwi lang. Kahit gaano ka mahal, sige binayaran namin.
Pero parang wala kang maaasahang tulong sa government. Guards nga lang ng NAIA,
kung tingnan kami parang basura... tsk.”
Other people who commented on the same thread said their
relatives also had confirmed tickets but arrived at the airport way ahead of
time to make sure they wouldn’t miss their flights, and were not allowed inside.
Someone named Jessa said she was hurt on hearing that her
parents were barred entry just because they decided to leave their house in the
province early for their midnight flight, worried about the curfew.
They arrived at the airport at around 2pm but were told that
they could not enter yet. Her father is a senor citizen and her mother has
hypertension.
“Okay may protocol, pero ang init init sa labas. Wala pang
mabilhan ng makakain. Safety purposes gets ko, pero yung comfort ng passengers
isipin din sana
Maribel Dayag Luyun chimed in: “Same with my husband.
Hatinggabi nakarating sa NAIA terminal 1. Hindi pinapasok kasi kailangan daw 3
hours before departure puwedeng pumasok. Para
na siyang pulubi at sobrang pawis na siya na sa labas lang ng NAIA nakaupo.
Wala man lang kunsiderasyon.”
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| Some had confirmed flights but could not get in until 3 hours before their departure time |
Another commented that the mess was the result of the lack
of planning and coordination within the government on how to properly respond
to the easing of the lockdown.
Brenda Escalante said, “Why blame the people who go to the airport with
confirmed tickets not knowing their flights are to be cancelled. It is not easy
just to say leave the terminal when the people do not have the funds to sustain
their needs in the city po. Sana
Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade earlier announced
domestic flights would resume starting today in areas under general community
quarantine.
But he was not able to foresee that the airlines would be
forced to cancel flights because some local government units would not allow
them to land.
As of tonight, at least four scheduled flights going to Cebu from NAIA were canceled throughout the day for this reason. At Clark International Airport, flights to Cebu and Davao were also canceled at the last minute.
Budget carrier Cebu Pacific, meanwhile, managed to go ahead
with their special flights to General Santos,
Cagayan de Oro and Naga to bring home stranded passengers from Metro Manila.
