Cebu Pacific: From delays to cancellations

I got a lot of response for the articles I wrote about the nasty delays of Cebu Pacific Airline (CPA) flights that irk a lot of passengers nowadays. My brother Bing Avila and cousin Architect Jose Mari Cañizares, related to me that they flew to Bacolod last Friday, March 2, to attend the United Architects of the Philippines (UAP) Conference at the Circle Inn Hotel. So far, the flight was on time and uneventful though I already warned them both that Cebu Pacific flights no longer departs on time like they used to.

Well, last Sunday on their scheduled return to Cebu, my brother and cousin suffered worse than the delays we were complaining about – their 9 a.m. Cebu Pacific flight (5J-125) was cancelled without prior notice. All the airline needs to do in this case was either call the passengers individually or put a huge sign outside the Bacolod Terminal that this particular flight was cancelled.

But what happened was the passengers were made to line up at the terminal counter (the lines were long) to have their baggage pass through the security X-ray machines only to be told one-by-one that their flight to Cebu was cancelled! With only one Bacolod to Cebu flight a day that means Cebu Pacific should have given them a free hotel stay. This is the responsibility of Cebu Pacific but they merely told their passengers that the flight was cancelled and left them to find a way how to get back to Cebu.

Of course, since you can already take a bus or a V-Hire from Bacolod City to San Carlos City (via Salvador Benedicto), my brother and cousin did took the V-Hire and arrived in San Carlos City by 11 a.m. They missed the ferry that leaves for Toledo City at 10:30 a.m, so they waited for the 1:30 p.m. M/V Danilo bound for Toledo City. From Toledo, they took another V-Hire to Cebu City and arrived at 4 p.m. Talk about a humongous delay!

Let me go back again to my earlier report about the billboard of Cebu Pacific Airlines in Cebu City where it boasted as the "Pinakamaayong Airline para sa Cebuano." Well, that group of Cebuanos who were supposedly on the Cebu Pacific flight from Bacolod last Sunday had to take the long route, thanks to a Cebu Pacific cancelled flight.

My good friend Charles Lim of CPA already called me about my previous article. He said he would inform Manila about this problem. Perhaps my complaints landed on deaf ears. Pray tell me Mr. Lance Gokongwei, are you proud of the airline that carries Cebu in its name but makes it very inconvenient for Cebuanos to arrive at their destination? Mr. Gokongwei has been awarded "Entrepreneur of the Year" by Ernst and Young but it seems this his airline is moving in the reverse direction. The company brags that Cebu Pacific is the airline that’s good for Cebuanos, yet it does not even make announcements in Cebuano. Is anyone in Cebu Pacific Airline listening to the gripes and complaints of their passengers? Hellooow!

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My article on the apprehension of fake Viagra last Friday got this response from our good friend Cathy Ileto of Pfizer.

Dear Bobit, I read with interest your column last Friday and would like to thank you for publishing our discussion, which enabled Pfizer to somehow communicate to the public its side of the story. This letter intends to respond to your call at the end of your article that "if multinational companies like Pfizer has something up its sleeve to help the Filipino people, then were are all ears."

I wish to inform you that Pfizer has Patient Care Programs, launched as early as 2004, which aim to do just that – provide the Filipino people access to quality and research-based medicines by allowing all patients prescribed with Pfizer medicines to enroll in the program and avail of discounts for their Pfizer medicines through a discount card, called the Sulit Card. More than this, the program gives enrolled patients access to health information, education and reminders for proactive health monitoring, and medication adherence. Pfizer’s patient programs are primarily for patients who are on maintenance medicines or those patients with chronic diseases. 

Pfizer’s Sulit Cards, with accompanying enrollment forms, are dispensed to patients through the prescribing doctor to ensure that these patients are fit to take the Pfizer medicines for which discount is being extended. Since specific Philippine laws and the BFAD restrict Pfizer and other pharmaceutical companies from engaging in direct-to-consumer advertising efforts on prescription drugs, and their programs, such as Pfizer’s Patient Care program, which the Sulit Card is a part of, we are only able to communicate this program through the doctors. 

For your information, Pfizer also distributes the Sulit Cards and program enrollment forms in public hospitals and health centers through doctors holding clinics therein. Pfizer believes cost is just one of many factors affecting the overall healthcare of the Filipinos. We welcome columnists like you who attempt to broaden the discussion on the other relevant health issues like patient safety, as well as the role of having an improved public health policy, in achieving long-term health outcomes. Thank you again for your interest in this issue. Best regards, Cathy Salceda-Ileto."

Thank you again Cathy for the enlightening response you gave this corner. Unfortunately, this is the first time I heard of the Sulit Card program by Pfizer. Is it perhaps because this program is only for Manila-based customers? What about the rest of the country who are also Pfizer customers, who most probably need it more? Perhaps Pfizer ought to give the Cebuano public more info about this program and where they can avail of the service?

Meanwhile, the issue of fake medicines has to be strongly addressed by the Arroyo administration. It is unlike the fight against film piracy where one can get the latest movie for a song. I hate to say this but at least those video pirates live by a code of honor rare in the Philippine retail industry – customers can return a badly taped or copied DVD after they’ve watched the movie in full. Often, the vendors would also gladly accept or replace the defective DVD even if it was bought from another vendor.

But with fake drugs, there is no return or exchange and the fake drug you bought and took will surely not cure you, which means your money went down the drain literally! The buyer might as well have bought a Lotto ticket! That means there are criminals in this country getting richer every day at the expense of the poor people who are trying to save money by buying cheaper drugs. In the end, they’re the ones who get fooled by this big scam! It’s about time we see people go to jail for this crime.

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For email responses to this article, write to [email protected]. Bobit Avila’s columns can also be accessed through www.philstar.com. He also hosts a weekly talk show entitled, "Straight from the Sky" shown every Monday only in Metro Cebu on Channel 15 of SkyCable at 8 p.m.