Nothing is insurmountable
An honest-to-goodness scheme to make passengers’ travel to other countries easier is being hamstrung by a case filed against it in court for allegedly being violative of a law. But Manila International Airport Authority General Manager Jose Angel Honrado says, “Our hopes are high that this project will see its way through in no time.” He adds, “Nothing is insurmountable.”
Briefly, the MIAA project calls for integrating the international terminal fee into the cost of an airline ticket. This involves engaging the services of the airlines by including the fee in the ticket.
This column sees the practicality of the project. When a traveller purchases a ticket which includes the cost of the terminal fee (P550), he/she need no longer line up at the international airport to pay the fee. The lines are usually long, all the passengers are tired and weary. By paying for the fee upon purchase of one’s ticket, one can proceed to Immigration for clearance to enter the departure area.
But Rep. Roy V. Seneres of the OFW Family Party-list, et al has filed a case against the project, docketed as Civil Case No. R-PSY-14-18063-CV before the Regional Trial Court, Branch 109, Pasay City. Respondents are the Department of Transportation and Communication and the MIAA. This is for Certiorari with Request for Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction and/or Status Quo Ante Order. It is questioning the integration of the international passenger service charge into the airline ticket on the ground that it is allegedly in violation of RA No. 10222. Seneres’application for a TRO was granted through an Order issued by the RTC on Oct. 31, 2014, which was received separately by DOTC, MIAA and the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) on Nov. 3, 2014. The OSG filed its manifestation before the RTC on Monday, Nov. 11, 2014.
Honrado decries the misinformation being spread by those opposing the project.
Honrado clarifies that the integration of the terminal fee in the ticket cost does not remove the OFWs’ entitlement to exemption from the terminal fee. He quotes Section 22 of R.A. No. 10022 — the same law used by Seneres et al in opposing the project — which says, “Sec. 35, Exemption from Travel Tax Documentary Stamp Tax and Airport Fee. All laws to the contrary notwithstanding the migrant workers shall be exempt from the payment of travel tax and airport fee upon proper showing of proof of entitlement by the POEA.”
Honrado says exemption from the travel tax is granted to OFWs, national athletes, people going to Mecca, and those approved by the Office of the President upon proper showing of proof of entitlement from the Philippine Overseas Employment Authority by the passenger when purchasing the ticket in the Philippines.
If a passenger purchases his ticket online or abroad, the terminal fee is automatically included in the ticket cost, says Honrado. After passing through Immigration, a departing OFW must show proof of entitlement (of his/her being an OFW) to get a refund for the terminal fee from the Land Bank of the Philippines. If he/she seeks a refund after his/her flight, this may be done through a representative at the MIAA administration building.
A second phase of the purchase mode is recognizing exemptions at the point of sale for tickets bought online or abroad. “This however cannot be done yet given the present technology and other factors. But we believe nothing is insurmountable,” Honrado says. Consultations were held between the MIAA, Department of Labor, POEA and OFW representatives and manning and travel agencies to explore on this area.
Why is the terminal fee integration project important?
Honrado explains that the congestion problem caused by queuing passengers at the airport terminals will be reduced; the Philippines would be in step with practices in the ASEAN region where the terminal fee is included in the ticket cost, and not remain the only facility where the terminal fee is done face-to-face at the airport, and having sizeable space in the passenger movement areas with the removal of terminal fee counters.
Honrado showed the time and space savings enjoyed by passengers –and airport personnel — under the integration scheme. In Year 2013, a total number of departing passengers was 7,671,643; the passengers who paid terminal fee totaled 5,621,540, and exempted passengers numbered 2,050,103. All the 7.6 million passengers had to line up either to pay the terminal fee or for validation of their exemption.
After integration the total number of departing passengers who will not line up to pay the terminal fee will be 5,621,540; exempted passengers who will buy their tickets locally and will not line up is 1,852,534, and exempted passengers who will buy their tickets online or abroad and will line up for refund is 197,569.
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Former President Fidel V. Ramos and the Forum for Family Planning and Development will host the 7th Rafael M. Salas Golf Cup 2014 to be held on Saturday at the Southlinks Golf Club at Ayala Southvale Village, Las Pinas.
Forum president Ben de Leon says the tournament is named in honor of Rafael M. Salas, remembered for serving his fellow Filipinos in various private and government posts. In the international community, Salas served as the first executive director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) with the rank of undersecretary-general.
Expected to play are 100 “avid” golfers in this year’s tournament which bears the theme “Bigyang Halaga ang Kalusugan ng Kababaihan” (Giving Value to Women’s Health), to be held at the Southlinks Golf Club in Ayala Southvale Village, Las Pinas City.
The tournament is open to all amateur golfers for an entry fee of P5,000 which includes a donation to this noble cause, a weekend green fee, P1,500 worth of Mizuno gift certificates, a limited edition Salas golf rain gear and golf balls, buffet lunch during the awarding, and a chance to win prizes in the raffle.
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Ongoing, until November 19, is a photo and interactive exhibit depicting the different involvements of Knowledge Channel, at Rockwell’s Power Plant Mall. The exhibit is part of Knowledge Channel Foundation Inc.’s 15-year anniversary celebration.
The first part of the exhibit, called “Turo,” offers a collection of stories from Knowledge Channel’s 15 years shared by learners and teachers reached by the project. At the same time, it is a tribute to the different generous sponsors who supported the foundation’s cause for education.
The interactive part shows the educational packages offered by Knowledge Channel: On Demand, Online, Learning Effectively through Enhanced Pedagogies or LEEP, On-Demand for Early Childhood and Development, Alternative Learning System, and K+12.
Included in the exhibit are the corporate social responsibility efforts of various Lopez Group companies at uplifting the life of the Filipino through education, environment, health and wellness, livelihood, and culture and the arts projects.
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