NAIA to hold earthquake drill

MANILA, Philippines - Airport authorities are preparing their personnel for an earthquake drill.

Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) senior assistant general manager Vicente Guerzon said the earthquake drill would be added to ongoing fire and rescue exercises by airport personnel inside the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) since March.

“We are preparing our people, the Fire and Rescue Department (FRD) medical group and the Airport Police Department (APD) for the worst to come,” said Guerzon, the concurrent assistant general manager for security and emergency services of MIAA.

Guerzon added the earthquake drill would follow the mock up crash and rescue operations. The drill was in response to the call of Airlines Operators Council (AOC) asking for earthquake drill inside the terminal.

FRD chief Robert Simon and other MIAA officials will evaluate the whole exercise in order to make some adjustments, Guerzon added.

The AOC called on airport authorities to hold simultaneous emergency exercises in line with a government directive to all business establishments and government offices to adopt safety measures and emergency response exercises for earthquake and terrorist attacks.

Some 40 foreign and local airlines of the AOC asked the MIAA to conduct earthquake exercises.

AOC said the issue is the safety of the passengers and personnel, pointing out the earthquake that struck Bohol and Cebu last October.

“The only exercises at the airport is the crash and rescue exercises which were held outside the terminal. We never have an exercise done inside the terminal like the earthquake exercises,” the AOC said in a resolution.

“If something like a major quake happens what kind of response will the airport authority have... are we going to wait for hours and days to respond to the injured? Does the airport have the capability to handle or take care of the injured passengers?”

The AOC is questioning the capability of MIAA to respond in such emergencies and if they have the necessary equipment to handle the situation.

“We don’t want to alarm, but holding a simulated exercise is what passengers require,” the AOC said.