'Teka-Teka' solutions

“Teka-Teka” is a pinoy term that strongly suggests “hold on” or “wait a minute.” It also advises caution and wisdom before rushing into action or jumping in without a well thought out plan.

“Teka-Teka” is exactly what I suggest to DOTC Secretary Mar Roxas after hearing how the DOTC plans to regulate incoming air traffic into the Manila International Airport from provincial airports by making them take off from their airport of origin when their flight, entry and landing at MIA can be managed without any delay.

By doing this the DOTC hopes to remove the current risk where as many as 5 to 10 commercial jets are circling over greater Metro Manila for 10 to 15 minutes waiting to get permission to land, while one runway has the same number of planes or more waiting for an average of 15 to 20 minutes to take off.

In order to do this, Air Traffic Control at MIA would have to manage a pre-determined schedule of take offs and arrivals with sufficient clearance time between planes to make sure that no pile up occurs on the ground or in the sky. The plan will certainly require a reduction in the frequency of flights, which actually works well for airline companies. In the last 2 months that I have been flying as a domestic tourist, I noticed that many of the flights of budget airlines were not really full. The only time they were full, were from airports that had limited flights.

The bad thing about too many flights that are not full is that airline companies have always been suspected of cancelling flights “due to operational concerns” and “incorporating” two half filled flights into one big jet. In the DOTC solution, they reduce cut-throat competition, prevent cancellations for integration, and reduce air traffic congestion in and out of MIA.

My “Teka-Teka” advice to Secretary Roxas is to extend their Teka-Teka policy to consider and provide for passenger convenience and comfort beginning at provincial airports. Keeping planes on the ground also means keeping hundreds of passengers in cramp, congested departure areas. Except perhaps for the Cebu and Caticlan airport, most of the provincial departure lounges I’ve waited in resemble boat ferry terminals that are wall-to-wall full of passengers.

Given the generational training of Filipinos in terms of patience, all DOTC has to do is provide enough rooms and necessary utilities for passengers, OR make sure that no two flights are scheduled within the same hour or so. This way Roxas and associates end up with engineering as well as humane solutions.

* * *

Speaking of ferries, it seems that the Pasig River ferry remains locked up. Last time I passed by, street people had all but taken over the facilities, using the outdoor areas and roofed portions as overnight accommodations as well as parking facilities for pedicabs and pushcarts.

In the scheme of things, the Pasig ferry system may be of little concern for Secretary Mar Roxas or the President himself, but after the millions of pesos spent on those terminals as well as the alternative transport it provides, there are many of us who have greatly benefitted from the River ferry.

The question is: Was the ferry system shut down because of obsessive-compulsive lawyers surrounding Mar Roxas or was it shut down because of over zealous PSG officials? Can Mar Roxas at least give the public an honest explanation why a fully functioning transport system was shut down and allowed to fall into disarray by the Aquino Administration?

* * *

When Malacañang announced that another retired General has been appointed to head our Civil Aviation Authority, the number one question that airmen and airline executives asked was: What’s he suppose to do?

According to sources, retired Air Force general and now CAAP Director General Hotchkiss has asked for the President for only one year to do only one thing — to clean up the corruption at the Manila International Airport and the CAAP. Since the major preoccupation of the President is to combat corruption, it is not surprising that his appointee would focus on the same. The only question is, can Hotchkiss remove a P-Noy appointee in the CAAP whose integrity is rumored to be worth a mere $10,000? Can Hotchkiss pin down scalawags who trade aircraft ratings etc.?

And while the good General Hotchkiss is on the hunt, has P-Noy come to realize that it takes a village if not the entire industry to restore our good standing with the International Civil Aviation Organization? When will Malacanang seriously prioritize the problem?

* * *

You know you have a problem at the Bureau of Customs when the broker you hire actually suggests that it will make things go faster if a white man with an Embassy or ADB ID comes along to help process the release of goods.

In fairness to the BOC, they try their best to guide customers in processing their claims from window to window, even indicating that with all papers in order, a vehicle or an item can be processed in 3 hours 26 minutes +/-. Unfortunately what they forgot to compute is the time it takes for officials to finish brunch, lunch, merienda and the 3 o’clock habit. Yes an ADB employee was dumbfounded when he reached a customs window where service was temporarily suspended because they had to recite the 3 O’clock Catholic prayers.

As I compared notes with brokers, customers etc., I wondered what motivated people at customs to delay or prolong the release of legitimate and properly documented goods. It turns out that aside from the usual petty lagay or bribe for some Intel group or another, common knowledge is that insiders want to collect more for warehousing fees, so they delay by at least overnight. In reality, the actual time it takes for embassy or ADB importations is more like 36 hours and not 3.26.

* * *

Email: [email protected]