We’ll see it in September

I managed to get a copy of the speech of DOTr Sec. Jimmy Bautista that was “delivered” during the annual business journalism seminar in Baguio City. I share parts of it because I’m sure many of our readers want to know what’s in store for us when San Miguel Corporation or the New NAIA Infra Corporation (NNIC) takes over the Manila airport on Sept. 14, 2024.

Here are some insights lifted from the speech:

“NNIC also plans to expand two of the four passenger terminals. The north wing of Terminal 2 will be expanded towards the Philippine Village Hotel and Nayong Pilipino area. The south wing will be extended towards Terminal 1 after the International Cargo Complex and fuel farm are relocated.

“Terminal 2 expansion will lead to a jump in capacity from nine million passengers per year to 32 million. The north concourse of Terminal 3 will be expanded to accommodate 25 million passengers per year, from 14 million.

“Vehicle parking outside of Terminals 1 and 3 will more than double – from 5,800 to 12,400 slots. At Terminal 1, a multilevel carpark building will rise with an area of more than 62,000 square meters, while at Terminal 3, a new five-level carpark will be added to the existing carpark.

“Also, passengers using Terminal 3 will have convenient access to the Metro Manila subway to be constructed in front of the terminal, crossing eight cities and reducing travel time to just 45 minutes and can accommodate more than half a million passengers a day.

“A significant operational enhancement is the installation of solar panels and local power storage facilities as well as the full overlay of the 3.7-kilometer Runway 06-24, activation of the long inoperable aircraft visual guidance docking system that is most useful at night and during lightning storms.

“Passenger comfort and convenience include: repair or replacement of the passenger boarding bridges, upgrade or replacement of baggage handling system, improvement in inter-terminal passenger and baggage transfer, construction of new surface access and airside roads, and improvement of passenger pick-up and drop-off flow. The consortium plans to improve the existing automated terminal information system as well as vital communication systems. Of course it goes without saying that the NNIC will be integrating all airline traffic management in terms of equipment, facilities and sites. They will also be investing in an airport hotel and additional OFW lounge, etc.”

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There is a “killer disease” that many doctors don’t get to diagnose called “Denial.”

A friend recently confessed how she had been suffering from abdominal pain for four days, took meds and stayed in bed. It turns out, she had ruptured an appendix and infected material spread through her abdomen and nearby organs, nearly killing her. By God’s grace, her husband hauled her to the ER where an emergency appendectomy was performed.

This is why I am writing about the disease called “Denial” that is prevalent among many Filipinos. I can understand that many poor and penniless Filipinos avoid hospitals and simply suffer in silence rather than get physically healed but humiliated and reminded of how poor they are.

What I can’t figure out is how many people who have access to cash, loans, credit cards, go through the psychological cancer I call “Denial.” I get it that some people have actual fears but to deny and delay seeing a doctor, hoping it would go away, is irrational.

The problem with the unnecessary delay is that pain, fever and pronounced symptoms is the body’s warning that something is wrong. Denying and delaying the consultation merely elevates the risk and taking palliative medication sometimes mask or greatly complicates the medical condition. I know of some people who suffered extreme pain, medicated and endured overnight before going to the ER to have kidney stones or a gall bladder or an appendix removed.

In some cases, comorbidities and age triggered delayed complications such as heart attacks. A good friend had an angiogram, confirmed a blockage, negotiated to delay by three to six months, but died from a heart attack after a few months.

From personal experience, I can share that I saved myself three times from having a serious heart attack simply by going to my cardiologist because of “shortness of breath” that was caused by several blockages.

On the third event, I had the option to go cheap and undergo a 2D Echo and a stress test. But I pointed out to the doctor that the third event felt like a heart attack, and I would rather pay hard earned money I could earn back than end up with an actual cardiac arrest. As it turned out, my instincts were right.

My Bible study group mate is a certifiable hypochondriac, which is the extreme opposite of those living with the Denial disease, but because he is a hypochondriac he goes to his doctor with every ache and pain. A year ago, he discovered he had early-stage cancer that was treated in time.

I have discovered that there is another group in “Denial” of the need for annual checkups, blood tests, etc. They are housewives, businesswomen, female professionals who go around thinking and saying that everyone in the family is unhealthy but not them. But what they miss is the “Age” factor, menopause and long-term assault on mental health.

“Denial” tells them “I’m healthy” which is similar to an addict saying, “I’m not an addict.” The tragedy is that the medical profession and media have to declare something as a “killer disease” before people take things seriously.

We have all been given a body, the least we can do to honor this gift and privilege is to care for it and not make it suffer due to “denial.”

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