Mayor Sarah takes on DIA execs

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – The mayor of this city has a new target in her crosshairs: the management of the Davao City International Airport (DIA).

Mayor Sara Duterte, who was once shown on video repeatedly punching a court sheriff, said yesterday that the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) should make heads roll at the DIA following the accident Sunday night involving a Cebu Pacific flight from Manila.

“The emergency showed how poorly managed DIA is,” Duterte said as she lamented that the airport had no contingency plans in place.

She vowed to file a complaint with the CAAP in Manila against the DIA management led by area manager Frederick San Felix, “to put on record their non-existent emergency plan.”

City authorities lamented that the 165 passengers of Cebu Pacific Flight 5J971 were not attended to properly by DIA personnel after disembarkation.

The Airbus A320 plane had skidded as it landed in heavy rain at the airport, veering right and slowing to a stop beyond the runway. All passengers and crew were unhurt, but some complained that no one at the airport checked if any passenger needed medical attention.

Davao officials said the city has over two dozen ambulances, but DIA authorities barred their entry into the airport.

Some passengers complained about what they described as the lack of assistance from the airline.

Davao City First District Rep. Karlos Nograles proposed a congressional inquiry into the incident.