Given the repeated pronouncements from both the President and DOTC Secretary Leandro Mendoza, whom I personally know to be an honorable man, NAIA-3 should open its gates and checking counters by June. Last time we heard, even if all international carriers aren’t yet ready to make the big move, it’ll definitely open for service.
Which is just right. Should’ve done so years ago, in fact, had not the contract allegedly gone the usual suspect route. Sure, we’ll pay the Germans sometime. They can wait, while we concentrate on assuring ourselves of a new terminal that’s spic-and-span and ready for secure, glitch-free operations three months from now.
There’s still time to enhance this welcoming driveway, portal, foyer, this anteroom to a nation’s, uhh, okay, soul. And we should go for it. Used to be that airports placed a premium on practicality of operations, before countries realized that terminals can serve as showcases of architecture and engineering, inspire nationals in rallying to the cause of national pride.
Subsequently, terminals did more than just look good from the outside and inside. It wasn’t enough to have soaring ceilings and modernistic interiors, nor simply to provide the latest in amenities: travelators, high-definition TV, shower stalls, massage facilities – everything that can cater to travelers’ comfort-zone needs, especially when a terminal serves as a hub for flight connections.
Now, there’s no likelihood that NAIA-3 or any of our major airports will ever get into hub service other than for domestic connections, such as what keep Mactan airport humming (and its blind masseurs and guitar sellers busy). It’s something our tourism officials have yet to acknowledge: that our foreign arrivals cannot ever hope to compete with the numbers notched up in Don Muang or Changi. Their host cities happen to be central hubs, whereas the Philippines is a virtual cul de sac, or end-of-the-line destination. One travels to this country because one wants to, and not because it serves as a way-station or jump-off point to proximate destinations, such as what Bangkok, Singapore, and even Kuala Lumpur offer.
In any case, now we have a chance to offer something other than merely modernistic, user-friendly features or rudimentary teaser attractions such as Changi’s orchid and fern gardens, or Vancouver’s sample totem pole, or Jakarta’s traditional masks and indigenous wall patterns.
We have an opportunity to showcase what we can be proud of: our artistic talents; make that genius. Our music, our visual arts, and our folk arts can comprise a festival of culture in both the arrival and departure areas of NAIA-3. The waiting lounges and all other common areas can become a daily exhibit of our people’s creative vitality, indeed, turn the new terminal into a perennial fiesta.
I propose an initial meeting that will involve three ladies and three gentlemen who can craft the wherewithal for such a Fiesta Airport. Hon. Larry Mendoza, Tourism Secretary Ace Durano, and Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) GM Alfonso Cusi can sit down with a counterpart trio of accomplished ladies: NCCA chair Evelyn Pantig, NCCA executive director Cecile Guidote Alvarez, and CCP chair Emily Abrera. They can map out an arrangement where the government agencies involved in art and culture can call on private entities for cooperation and support, thence partner with the MIAA, the DOTC and the DOT in turning NAIA-3 into a grand venue for our diverse arts.
Imagine fresh arrivals who are ushered into an extended hallway, where maybe a travelator carries them past the usual backlit ads for Louis Vuitton and such. Yet there can be wall spaces that will also allow them to take in some representative Luzes, Malangs, Bencabs, Baldemors, Stevesantoses et al, and corners or alcoves that display free-standing sculpture by Billy Abueva, Ramon Orlina, Impy Pilapil, Julie Lluch…
Stepping into the arrival area, or even while lining up before the immigration counters, arrivals are feted with music from Ryan Cayabyab, Joey Ayala, Noel Cabangon, Bayang Barrios, Pinikpikan… As they move toward the baggage carousels, they are serenaded by "pangkat kawayans" ang string quartets performing in separate sections. Departure lounges are not fed muzak but piano music by Cecile Licad, songs by Lea Salonga and the Loboc Children’s Choir… While sitting about waiting for boarding time, or otherwise rummaging through Duty Free counters, or maybe cooling one’s heels for a connecting domestic flight, the foreigner, balikbayan or OFW can marvel at furniture pieces by wood masters Gerry Araos, Rey Paz Contreras, Benji Reyes, as well as the superlative designs by Cebu’s eternally inspired homecrafts exporters.
Bags and other handicrafts and export-quality furnishings will be on display and sale, or may invite orders from the usual visiting firemen and other quickstep jetsetters. Mag:Net+ and other private galleries and bookshops can offer alternative buys in terms of artworks and titles other than the usual postcards, souvenirs, and "airport novels" by Grisham and the like. A reputable Filipiniana bookshelf should be mounted, and maybe Ayala Museum can have a corner for its high-quality but modestly priced art gift items.
Video and indie shorts are shown on special monitors as an alternative to the usual CNN and ESPN. Filipino poetry is highlighted as framed posters. Native weaves from north to south stand cheek by jowl with art installations by Junyee, Cesare A.X. Syjuco et al. Represented are works from the Baguio Arts Guild, the Negros Collective, and artists from Cebu, Davao, Zamboanga and the rest of Mindanao. Our best photographers should be on display, too.
It can all amount to a tastefully designed riot of a cornucopia impressing upon the newcomer, the balikbayan, and the departing visitor what a blessedly gifted community of artists we have. Thus do we open our modern airport with an extra degree of aplomb. And show the world, and ourselves, that indeed there is a lot to be proud of in our heritage, old and new.