Open skies policy of PNoy is a failure!

 The report that Qatar Airlines will be quitting the Cebu-Doha route soon has gone viral with so many people complaining that the Aquino Regime seem helpless to stop them from leaving. This is another clear proof that the tourism policies of the Aquino Regime based on its Open Skies policy was totally wrong and disastrous for our tourism industry. I wrote this before and I hate to say “I warned you!” Anyway here’s a letter from Mr. Richard Clarke about this problem so you’ll know that many people are sad about Qatar Airlines leaving Cebu. Here’s Mr. Clarke’s letter:

 “Bobit, as I fly this airline to visit my family three times a year using the Doha-Cebu (for the past 6-years) I am pretty disappointed at the cancellation of flights starting March 26 as now have to seek alternatives along with many other OFWs who I’m sure are pretty shocked thanks to their own government.

 Once again, the Philippines makes it really unattractive & costly to fly too! It’s shooting itself in the foot with its high taxes & landing fees! Fuel prices are not the real cause here as it affects every airline. Doesn’t this government ever learn over the years? So much for their so-called Open Sky policy when all these charges they put in place make sure that airlines are scared away. It drives away tourists, investors & important links with Europe. Countries who benefit from this will be its ASEAN neighbors.

 No one I have talked to from Cebu wants to fly to Manila, as their airport terminals are hell holes & are not even linked by an MRT, which should be installed immediately for the passengers comfort & safety away from the crowded polluted streets if you have to transfer to another terminal, which so many do. Really what is this government doing when all round it problems are mounting when they are just focused on one man & a political trial for grandstanding opportunists with 2013 elections in their minds. Thanks Richard.”

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 We joined the rest of Cebu media to attend the Globe Telecom presscon in Radisson Blu last Wednesday. On the presidential table were Globe’s top honchos led by Globe Telecom President Ernest Cu; Peter Bithos, Senior adviser for Consumer Business; Joe Caliro, head of Customer Experience; and Globe’s IT partner Mr. Bong Borja, CEO of Aegis People Support. Ms. Yoly Crisanto Head, Corporate Communications of Globe was the emcee of the event.

 We’ve joined many presscons in the past, but this was a presscon that I’d say is very close to the heart of Cebuanos because it was the launching of Globe’s first trilingual service using a Cebu-based contact center dedicated for Visayan speaking customers. I can only second guess that one of the targets of Globe Telecom are those people who still don’t have cellphones simply because many of them don’t speak English, but only the Cebuano tongue. This alone should be enough to boost their customer base.

 During the Q & A, I didn’t ask any questions, but rather, being an advocate for the Cebuano language, I congratulated Globe Telecom officials for embracing the reality on the ground and doing something that the central government have for many years refused to recognize that we are a nation of many languages and cultures. Hence, you can say that I gave the gathering a mini-lecture on the Cebuano language.

 During the launching, there was a slight faux pas, which our good friend Jun Tariman of DyAB, who is also a professor at the University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJR) rose up to correct. You see, at the end of the conversation in Cebuano, the call center agent replied with an “Oo po!” Of course, that was a Tagalog phrase. This only proves the sensitivity of the Cebuano media. But I don’t blame the Aegis People’s Support because too many of us Cebuanos have been bombarded by Tagalog words, somehow whether we like it or not, some of them stick in our brains.

 Jun Tariman also pointed out that as the launching was about the Visayan language, there are many - from Cebuano, Waray, Illonggo or Karay-a. A case in point is what they speak in Bantayan Island, where my wife Jessica comes from. It is a mix of Romblonon, Cebuano, Illonggo and Karay-a. But generally, there are many Visayan words that can easily be understood between all the Visayan-speaking people.

 What’s new for us is that the new Globe Telecom hotline is now done right here in Cebu with the Aegis People Support, Tech Mahindra and Stream Global Three, who are the top three contact centers in the global Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry. Cebu after all is proud to be amongst the very top in the list of the world when it comes to BPOs.

 Hopefully someday, other Ayala-owned businesses like the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) would follow suit. Right now when you use a BPI ATM, it only asks you what language you want to use, English or Pilipino? Pilipino if you didn’t know is 99.9 percent Tagalog and we’re not Tagalogs.

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