A 2nd runway in NAIA is feasible

With the majority of the Philippine Legislature tagged as allegedly “corrupt” by Janet Lim Napoles (except for JV Ejercito), again let me put it plainly that we could no longer give our trust and confidence to these politicians because the crime that they allegedly committed is stealing government funds, which should have been given to the Filipino people. But the plot has thickened and the web of corruption has now spread even in the media.

If Ben-Hur Luy is to be believed, he has the names of journalists, radio or television personalities who were given certain amounts by Napoles. Those names were Korina Sanchez, Deo Macalma, Rey Pacheco and Mike Enriquez of GMA-7. Of course these media personalities denied these allegations. Like it or not, this will strike at the very credibility of Ben-Hur Luy. If these journalists were “paid” for their silence… the fact remains that they were never silent when it came to the pork scam. So what’s the point in exposing these journalists in the first place?

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I had lunch with Canadian Ambassador Neil Reeder and his wife Irene in Radisson Blu last Friday noon courtesy of outgoing Canadian Honorary Consul Robert Lee. Ambassador and Mrs. Reeder were in Cebu for the formal turnover ceremonies of Robert and Anna Lee to the new Canadian Honorary Consul for Cebu in the person of Ms. Katherine Goshulak-Rivera, also in Radisson Blu that Friday evening. He gave Mr. Robert and Anna Lee a plaque of appreciation for the 15 years they served Canadians in Cebu.

I got two important things from Ambassador Reeder. First, that the Canadian embassy in the Philippines is the 8th largest Canadian embassy in the world. There are 33,000 Filipinos with permanent visas in Canada, the second most number in the world, that puts Tagalog as the fastest growing language group in Canada. Trade between the two countries hit $1.7 billion this year up by 15% over last year.

Of course, Ambassador Reeder also got a lot of political insights from me about the current situation in the country. What could I tell him but the whole truth about the collapse of the Legislature, thanks to the pork barrel scam, something that has never happened to this country before. We should also thank Canada for being one of the first responders when Super Typhoon “Haiyan” a.k.a. “Yolanda” struck the Visayas. All in all, Canada gave a total of $85 million in aid. Thanks again Canada!

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Over the weekend, my family went to our annual family outing at the fabulous Plantation Bay Resort in Marigondon, Mactan. I haven’t been back to Plantation Bay for some years now… but it was good to be back. Over breakfast, Plantation Bay owner Manny Gonzales joined our table for a chat about the Tourism industry and its challenges. I was glad to be back in Plantation Bay because this fully Filipino owned facility has already matured and it is still well maintained. If you have a chance to drop by, make sure you visitMogambo Springs for a refreshing spa and massage.

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Speaking of the Tourism industry, it is time for the Department of Tourism (DOT) to bring our tourism industry up to speed with our robust economy. However, after changing our Tourism slogan, “It’s more fun in the Philippines,” Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr. seems to have slowed down. The tourism industry is in a bit of turmoil thanks to the bad reputation of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

While I submit that this is not a DOT problem, it is the problem of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), which is why the DOT must also help prod the DOTC into action. As I already pointed out, at least 70% of international tourists who come and visit the Philippines do not return simply because our welcome mat, our airports, are badly mismanaged by the people assigned to these facilities.

The NAIA 3 Terminal is relatively new, but it is run by people who know next to nothing about passenger convenience and comfort. Perhaps now is the time for the DOT to take over control of our airport terminals and leave the DOTC to handle airside matters.

The problems of our airport terminals have become so acute, San Miguel Corp’s (SMC) Ramon Ang’s proposal for a new airport in Cavite looked like a sight for sore eyes. But there is only one problem there. Being a government project, Ramon Ang has to accept the reality that this project has to be bided out. I heard that DOTC Sec. Abaya is also looking at putting a second runway parallel to the present runway at NAIA. We have already written about this before… get those homes in Multi-National and relocate them to the Nayong Pilipino. Those who do not want to be there, just pay them off.

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