The SUN HK : Unifil calls for full investigation into NAIA fiasco

By The SUN

Some of those stranded in NAIA on Jan 1 flew into HK 3 days later

United Filipinos in Hong Kong has called on the Philippine government to take full responsibility for the New Year’s Day glitch which caused the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila to grind to a halt, with no planes being able to land, or fly out.

Among the hundreds of thousands of passengers affected by the fiasco blamed on a power outage that paralyzed air traffic control at Manila’s domestic and international airports, were foreign domestic workers returning to Hong Kong.

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Unifil hit out at the government for not saying anything about the incident, much less apologize for the inconvenience and trouble it caused to many.

“Aside from preventing the actual fiasco from happening on what is probably the busiest day of the year, the national government is silent on what is happening. No investigation on what happened? The national government couldn't even be bothered with a "thoughts and prayers" tweet?,” asked Unifil chair Dolores Balladares-Pelaez in a statement.

“Just goes to show how unconcerned they are with how the stranded passengers, especially OFWs. Do they have food to eat? Where are they staying? Nothing.”

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In the first few hours after the NAIA ground to a halt on Sunday, Jan. 1, many overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) had complained of not being told what they should be doing, or of getting little assistance from anyone.

One Hong Kong-bound OFW had told a local news network that she feared losing her job because her employer had specifically told her to be back by January 1 as work and school were due to resume the next day after the holiday season.

She also complained about getting only a pack of biscuits and a small bottle of water from the airline, which also could not tell her if she could leave within the day.

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Hong Kong employers also got frantic, as many had made the airline bookings for their helpers and as such, had to do the re-bookings themselves.

Many said in an online chat about not getting any help from the airlines on how they could rebook the flights, which was the earliest flight available, and whether they would be charged a fee or not. Some worried about their helpers being made to wait for hours in the airport, after having already stayed there for awhile after flying in from the provinces.

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Yesterday, a couple of OFWs who managed to get on a plane back to Hong Kong after being stranded on January 1 also recalled being given the run-around about when they could possibly leave.

One said she had tried to rebook her flight online, but was dismayed to see the hefty amount she was being made to pay. Luckily she tried queuing up at the airline service counter instead, and was able to get a new flight without having to pay a penalty.

The Department of Migrant Workers eventually stepped in, and through a hotline, offered to secure temporary hotel stay for the stranded OFWs, and help them rebook their flights.

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DMW Undersecretary Hans Cacdac said in a radio interview that about 200 OFWs were placed in hotels across the country with government help as of Tuesday, Jan. 3, and 60 of them were already due to leave yesterday.

About 3,000 were helped in rebooking their flights.

Cacdac also said labor attaches all over the world have been instructed to help Filipino workers explain to their employers why they missed a day or two of work after the holidays.

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Unifil said in future, they hope the DMW would be more proactive in looking for OFWs who need help instead of just announcing their hotline.

But ultimately, it said the government must give full accountability for what happened, and will not use the incident to justify the privatization of the airport, which some officials have begun pushing for.