Airport employees speak out

Cesar Chiong, general manager of the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA), was ordered suspended and then dismissed by the Office of the Ombudsman.

He and assistant manager Irene Montalbo became the subject of an anonymous complaint after implementing a plan to re-assign 285 airport personnel, which was meant to make the country’s main gateway more efficient.

I don’t know how many employees were actually cited in the ombudsman’s decision but what I know for sure is that close to 800 airport employees bravely broke their silence to voice their support for Chiong and Montalbo.

I know because I saw the numerous pages filled with their names and signatures.

They wrote a manifesto, addressed to President Marcos and Ombudsman Samuel Martires.

Below are excerpts:

“We, the undersigned MIAA officers and employees. manifest our heartfelt and full support to our beloved general manager Cesar Chiong and Irene Montalbo who were unjustly accused by anonymous complainants and now both placed under preventive suspension for the next six months or so or until the case is resolved by our ombudsman.

“The first ten months of our general manager have been very hard and challenging but he faced it with courage and humility. We have seen the best of MIAA in terms of the following:

“Increased the collection (focusing on concessionaires and unpaid obligations);

“Changed/institutionalized policies to improve passenger comfort and convenience by removing the initial security check at the departure areas of passenger terminals to eliminate unnecessary queuing of air passengers, providing assistance to passengers of delayed flights by coordinating with the airlines, knowing what the passengers needed, being a former airline executive himself.

Because of this, MIAA was recently given a thumbs-up in Customer Satisfaction Survey conducted by the Development Academy of the Philippines in terms of providing gender responsive facilities and services to airport users;

“Directed the MIAA promotion and selection board to fill up all the MIAA vacant permanent and casual plantilla positions to give qualified employees a chance to be promoted and provide their family additional subsistence. He did not want a close friend, comrade or his allies to gain appropriate eligibility and qualifications. He opened the door to qualified personnel with long years (some have more than 20 years experience) – contracted and casual employees of MIAA – (giving them) a chance to be part of government service;

“Approved the increase of salaries of contracted manpower service personnel to be at par with other government agencies, again improving the welfare and condition of these employees and their families, which has never been done in the past;

“Issuing office orders by assigning MIAA officials back to their respective plantilla positions, giving them the trust and confidence that they need to perform their jobs and assigning new officials in positions which, (from) a general manager’s prerogative, he thinks could help him attain his objectives toward an improved agency in terms of finance, operations and security matters.”

‘A new direction for MIAA’

In closing, they also said:

“We need our general manager (although our designated OIC is doing a very good job) and our assistant general manager for finance and administration back to work. They have given MIAA a new face and a new direction. They have shown compassion to their employees. They are open to suggestions and do not close their doors to people who need them.

“This Manifesto is addressed to His Excellency President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. You did a very good job in assigning GM Chiong to MIAA. We need a GM who listens to the people; sees the problem without political motivation and a general manager for the people.”

The manifesto speaks for itself. Insiders said that more employees wanted to add their names but were threatened or intimidated by the complainants.

I also heard that at least one complainant recanted his or her earlier position.

More importantly, close to 800 employees put their names on the line to support Chiong and Montalbo. This is no joke.

Beyond the support they’ve shown, it also shows that there are many nameless government employees who want to serve our country better and, given a good leader who leads by example, they would not hesitate to do good.
Malacañang should take a deeper look into this whole MIAA mess so that in the future, reformists like Chiong can really move forward and implement positive changes at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

I have so far written three column pieces on the issue but words aren’t enough to capture this complex story, which is really all about trying to change the bureaucracy for the better.

Isn’t it ironic that our airport was named after a man who sacrificed a lot for the country to help end the dark days of the Philippines, and yet the very same gateway has become a haven for scalawags and syndicates?

Ninoy Aquino must be turning in his grave now that the very same people he said were worth dying for have been inflicted with the same ills he tried to fight.

But the good fight is never done. We continue it like a relay and carry on the task when it’s given to us. This is what Cesar Chiong tried to do.

I stand with Cesar and reformists like him.

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Email: [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @eyesgonzales. Column archives at EyesWideOpen on FB.