The Clark Airport–the only hope

Administrator — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 17:23:56 +0000

Whenever I travel internationally, I decide to closely observe the airports of those countries in comparison with the Manila International Airport. When I fly in an international airline, I got to depart from Terminal 1. The experience was humbling and I am certain that any Filipino who has flown in some countries would agree with me that the Philippine Terminal 1, which all international carriers use, is a shame to the country. This is the only terminal I have seen to have a reused plastic container serving as the rainwater control device in the middle of the departure lounge covered by dirty and stained carpet. The dirt and the disrepair for an international passenger terminal is unacceptable.
While Terminal 2 and 3 claim to be later additions to the supposed gateway to the Philippines, they do not as well do justice to the vision of a more progressive Philippines. Terminal 2 does not provide the services that modern travelers now require for an airport. It does not even have a decent restaurant that hungry travelers could go to. Terminal 3 (aside from the fact that you will always be afraid of failing ceilings) is still in the state of terminal controversies.
The need, therefore, for a modern airport comparable to our neighboring countries and suited to the needs of the passengers is a no-brainer. And as it is next to impossible to expand the NAIA, our next best alternative (if not the only alternative) is the Clark International Airport, better known as the DMIA. There are a myriad of factors that would favor this option, such as the space availability for expansion to four runways, the proximity to Manila which is just one hour away with a smooth NLEX, the completion of the SCTEx connecting Clark to both Subic and Tarlac and to the North Luzon region, the completion of the Subic Seaport and the rapid development of Central and North Luzon as new growth areas for the Philippines.
If we accept the statement that the airport is the window to the country’s soul, the Clark International Airport, hence, is our only option for salvation and redemption from uncompetitiveness in the region.
It is quite disappointing, though, that the bidding for the construction of the Terminal 2 of DMIA failed. I have been a witness to the sacrifices of CIAC personnel in working long hours to make the bidding work. It was disheartening to see their sacrifices go for naught. For some reasons, it failed and that is a hard reality for the Philippines that is so much in need of that public infrastructure.
While we could all grind our teeth for such a setback, every Filipino should rally to the realization of this need. And while we hunger for an international airport, we must make it a sense of citizenship, a moral duty, that the next airport that we will have should be a source of national pride and not of collective shame such as the Terminal 3.
The realization of our aspirations for a globally competitive Philippines is embodied in the success of the completion of the DMIA as the premier gateway to the Philippines. It is not only a public infrastructure. It is a structure that would show who we are as Filipinos to the world. It is, therefore, our duty as patriotic citizens to make it happen. There is no other choice—a choice that we could very well make.

Crow Valley or Basa–not Sacobia

Administrator — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 16:26:57 +0000

The 600th Air Base Wing commander was visibly irked by reports that the Philippine Air Force contingent is ready to leave Clark for Sacobia Valley.

The state-run Clark Development Corp. had been planning to establish the much-vaunted “Next Frontier” in the Sacobia Valley and the reports that the 600th ABW will be transferred to the deeply contested area was misleading. 600th ABW Commander Col. Francisco Cruz could only scratch his head in disbelief as the PAF chief summoned him to explain.

I came across Col. Cruz during the simple cocktail party at the Mimosa Resorts recently accorded to him and former 600th ABW Commander Col. Alejandro Camagay. Cruz said the scribe got it all wrong because they are considering Basa Air Base in Floridablanca town or Crow Valley in Tarlac and not in the CDC’s “Next Frontier.”

“I’m hoping that this is not a send-off party,” Cruz told Clark International Airport Corp. president and CEO Victor Jose I. Luciano, EVP/COO Alexander S. Cauguiran, CDC president and CEO Benny Ricafort and CIAC officials. “I hope that we can nurture the partnership that we have forged,” said Camagay. “This is going to be a partnership. Our partnership is very much stronger in Clark.”

For his part, Luciano said CIAC and PAF have “an imaginary boundary and we are going in one direction.”

More Clark entitlements

The Philippine Air Panel who went to Finland for rounds of air talk scored another monumental success for the overall development of the Clark airport as the Philippines’ future premier gateway. Both Philippine and Finland air panels reviewed the existing Air Services Agreement (ASA), the bilateral framework that identifies frequency, capacity, route, type of aircraft and volume of cargo that can be conducted in pair-countries—and made some adjustments.

During the talks held in Helsinki last September 29 to 30, 2008, the RP Air Panel headed by Transportation and Communications Undersecretary Doroteo Reyes Jr. was able to secure new entitlements for the Philippines particularly the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport.

For the route Clark-Points in Finland, seven weekly frequencies had been allotted and vice-versa for a total of 14 flights per week. For the route Manila-Finland (Helsinki), four weekly frequencies had been allotted and vice-versa for a total of eight flights per week; and to the route between Points in the Philippines except Manila and Clark-Points in Finland, seven weekly frequencies had been allotted and vice-versa for a total of 14 flights per week. For cargo, 700 tons weekly capacity had been allotted for the route Clark/Subic-Finland V.V. and vice versa. Well, we need these entitlements for Clark—the more the better.

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The Clark Airport–the only hope

Crow Valley or Basa–not Sacobia