NAIA as the Philippines

It is a long weekend again and people are trooping to NAIA for flights to home provinces or vacation spots. This means the agony people usually endure at NAIA will double or triple.

For starters, I don’t know why we don’t have real bag drop counters. You have checked-in online but in the end, it doesn’t matter because the bag drop line is as long as at the check-in counters.

It isn’t like in some US airports where you can drop your luggage at a counter at curbside as you get off your car. This saves the trouble of getting a trolley to load bags and push it to the check-in counters inside the terminal. I hope this is something the San Miguel group will discuss with the domestic airlines to provide added convenience for passengers.

Then again, they have bigger problems to resolve. A few weeks ago, Terminal 3’s baggage handling with its online explosive detection system finally gave up. It had been operating from the opening of T3 in 2003 and had been problematic for the last several years. In 2020, it was supposed to be replaced but as usual, wasn’t. The past MIAA board in 2020 did spend P699,819,813 refurbishing the Terminal 1 baggage conveyor belt that was newly purchased in 2015. Also back in 2020, part of the ceiling in the food hall of T3 collapsed.

San Miguel, in the course of their due diligence prior to their NAIA bid, knew there was a problem with T3’s baggage handling system. Only one of five units was operational. So, after winning the bid, San Miguel immediately ordered new units but it will take one year for delivery. So, July 2025 is when things will get really better. Right now, they just tried to make the system work. Ni-remedyohan lang. They also hired more people to handle the baggage requirements mano-mano.

A few days after the baggage handling problem, Terminal 1’s water supply line busted due to lack of maintenance. So, they made remedyo again in the meantime. The plan is to put in new water pipelines and keep the old lines as spare.

The heavy rains have been causing flooding problems. While other international airports also occasionally have this problem, RSA investigated and found that the esteros and drainage pipes that serve NAIA are clogged. But last week, the typhoon flooding at NAIA was minimal and quickly subsided because SMC cleared most of the drainage pipes. They still have to clean up the Paranaque River going to Manila Bay.

In the past, NAIA had been having power and air conditioning problems due to lack of maintenance. So, RSA is fixing the entire electrical system including acquisition of large uninterruptible power supply equipment for each of the three terminals to end blackouts. RSA also arranged with Meralco to put up a sub-station that would exclusively serve NAIA since the existing one is already serving the very much increased load of condos, malls, hotels and casinos across T3. New chillers for air conditioning have also been ordered.

Then there are the sweetheart deals with rentals paid by concessionaires. Philippine Aerospace Development Company or PADC is a government owned company that has outlived its usefulness. It used to develop aircraft like the Islander which are great to use in small airports around the country. But they have stopped fulfilling their original mandate. They make their money now by being a landlord.

PADC leased land from MIAA at NAIA. They have three lease contracts with MIAA, the first is for 20,000 square meters at 20 centavos per sqm subleased to Cebu Pacific for P314 per sqm. The second is for 2,555 sqm leased at 20 centavos per sqm sub-leased to Airbus Helicopters for P309 per sqm (hangar) P103 per sqm for ramp and P361 per sqm for office space.

Contract 3 is 5,723 sqm at 60 centavos per sqm used as PADC office. PADC’s rates have remained unchanged since 1974 or for 50 years. PADC pays MIAA the lease rental plus concessionaires’ privilege fee based on 30 percent of its gross sublease rentals. Just imagine how much money MIAA lost through the years for those highly commercial land on Domestic Airport Road. That PADC is a GOCC shouldn’t have mattered. Market rates should have been charged.

Inside the terminals, food and other concessions pay P1,200/sqm and there are reports that some locators pay as little as P60-700/sqm. That had been raised to P1,600/sqm under SMC. They should be paying mall rates of at least P4,500/sqm because airport terminals provide prime selling space.

There are various rackets at the terminals. We have been told of one involving VIP services that San Miguel has now stopped. Then there are escort services by immigration and airport police staff that have facilitated human trafficking. Sen. Risa Hontiveros exposed the pastillas scam which enabled undesirable aliens to enter the country for a fee. Remember tanim bala?

That’s how bad post-EDSA administrations managed NAIA. Everything you hate about the mismanagement of the country from corruption to inefficiency exists at NAIA.

Indeed, NAIA is a microcosm of what’s wrong with the country. It is not just one government agency but several. It is also the people, both government and private who have made the airport cringeworthy through the years.

I told RSA that he bought into a massive mess with the humongous headaches that go with it. He just smiled and said that he is a good troubleshooter and loves such challenges. If he delivers on his promise to make us proud of NAIA, he should be the next President. He doesn’t like the idea but we have to force him because if he can clean up NAIA in record time, he should be able to do the same for the country.

Boo Chanco’s email address is [email protected]. Follow him on X @boochanco