Assorted concerns

Late January, I wrote an article about how the unfinished runway of the Coron/Busuanga airport has seriously affected the growth of tourism largely because only propeller-type aircraft are able to land there, resulting in expensive airline tickets.

This month, those same aircraft types are now reassigned to operate from Clark Airport. The good news is that Cebu Pacific now flies directly from Clark to El Nido. The bad news is flights going to Busuanga/Coron now take off from Clark.

While operators are doing the best they can, the situation is literally going from bad to worse. Instead of upgrading the runway in order to accommodate bigger capacity planes to increase efficiency and lower pricing, tourists must now “rough it” with the added overland trip.

Tour operators and resort owners recently stated “that approximately 50 percent of our market will be affected by the phase-out. The private sector – airlines, shipping lines and stakeholders – will do our best to adjust.”

The big question is will the tourists react positively by going via Clark and Cebu? Or will they do so negatively, meaning they will go somewhere else (El Nido, San Vicente, Puerto Princesa, Siargao, etc.). A fair assumption is not all will be willing to go via Clark.

If half of the affected 50 percent will not do it, we could lose as much as 25-30 percent of our already low arrivals. Maybe more.

Rerouting is not what President Bongbong Marcos said about tourism infrastructure development or investments. The instructions back then were to make the visitor experience comfortable and memorable.

The relocation of propeller-type aircraft to Clark was unavoidable as NAIA streamlined and maximized utilization of runways and aircraft takeoffs and landings. As such, the logical move is for the DOTr to upgrade or complete existing airports and runways for jet aircraft that carry more and fly faster and cost cheaper for passengers.

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Two months ago, an American lady packed up her life in the US to serve with the United States Agency for International Development or USAID in the Philippines.

I can only imagine how excited she was to move to the tropics at the beginning of winter stateside. It must have been amazing to experience the longest Christmas and food-binging holiday ever, which is “Only in the Philippines!”

But now she has 30 days to pack it all up again and relocate back to the cold, cold US winter, because President Donald Trump decided to drastically reduce US contributions and fundings of “non-essentials” abroad.

Last week, a Filipina doctor well-versed in public health and international programs expressed her belief that President Trump’s announcement to pull out of the World Health Organization will impact the Philippines in two major areas.

First will be the fight to control if not eradicate tuberculosis; second will be the support given to HIV patients receiving lifesaving medications. If Trump cuts financial contributions to the WHO and shuts down the USAID, it is feared that hundreds of millions of pesos worth of medicines will disappear from the pipeline.

This in turn will make things even worse for patients who are already being treated because a disruption could make the infections worse or resistant to drugs. Many patients infect other family members or people in close quarters, who in turn infect others outside.

This is why TB is no longer just a poor people’s disease. It is now manifesting among both rich and poor, their kids as well as their elderly because domestic helpers, drivers, employees or anybody can be a carrier.

Ironically, I was told that the “funding” could also be the reason why the eradication of TB remains a failed goal. The abundant supply of TB drugs requires programs that need counterpart funding, and where there is money there is corruption.

If medicines for TB and HIV funded by the US really stops, the DOH and the public should prepare for a double dose of public health disasters. We either work to eradicate TB and HIV or we watch an oncoming wave of very sick and people dying in public hospitals.

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My go-to barbershop inside Barrio Kapitolyo has closed shop after six years of operation, the last being a gallant but losing battle to stay open. Before that there was an upscale bike shop that lasted only a year.

There were other popular outlets such as CAB Café, Charly’s Burger beside the car wash and next to it a series of Pinoy restos and the Indian restaurant across the road. Unfortunately, popularity does not guaranty sustainability.

When I asked about the contributing factors to the serial closures, the first mention was the high rent being charged by building owners. There continues to be no rhyme or reason behind annual increases in rentals and landlords are immovable in their demands.

It won’t be long before these same rental units will experience the glut that condominiums and property developers are experiencing because of high prices relative to the slow economy.

In fact, a number of malls within a kilometer distance of Barrio Kapitolyo are already offering very attractive and competitive rental rates per square meter. Then there are the growing number of warehouses and storage facilities that will compete with houses turned into bodegas.

Other causes for closure are the confusing and conflicting zoning rules and parking among the city, barangay and the MMDA. There is also food inflation and last but not least, the millions of fake PWD cards that forced many restaurants to increase prices to compensate for fraud.

One restaurant owner told me: “If the government can clean up all those million fake cards being used, the food sector can easily bring down the prices in food outlets.”

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