Cebu Pacific Air, the airline firm controlled by the family of 86-year-old John Gokongwei who is reputedly among the richest men in the country with an estimated fortune of about $3.2 billion, is being subjected to a congressional investigation for alleged “business malpractices.”
This is in connection with its steadfast refusal to use the passenger tubes or air bridge facilities which were precisely installed by the architects when they were building the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 (NAIA 3) for the safety and convenience of the paying passengers allegedly because they trying to avoid shelling out the additional P7,000-service fee being charged by management for every flight.
Ever since Cebu Pacific shifted its base of operations from the Manila Domestic Airport to NAIA 3 sometime in 2010, sources claim there has never been one instance when the air bridge was used to accommodate travel-weary passengers in an incoming flight even if it was raining cats and dogs, which saved the company at least P300 million annually.
Well, it’s about time. We had already written about the issue sometime last year in this column, based on complaints we had received through e-mail, but nobody in government cared to listen. Until now.
The House committee on transportation is slated to conduct a probe on this issue when sessions resume later this month based on a resolution filed by the Rodriguez brothers of Northern Mindanao (Rep. Rufus Rodriquez of Cagayan de Oro City and Rep. Maximo Rodriguez of Abante Mindanao party-list) urging the lower chamber to look into this practice that certain airlines, primarily Cebu Pacific, are indulged in to cut down on operating costs even if it at the expense of hapless passengers.
To be invited to the public hearing are government agencies directly involved in the airline industry such as the Department of Transportation and Communications, Department of Tourism, Manila International Airport Authority, Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, Civil Aeronautics Board, Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority or TIEZA (formerly Philippine Tourism Authority) to explain why they should not be cited for allowing this travesty to persist for such a long time.
According to Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, formerly Immigration commissioner during the Estrada administration, someone should knock it into the heads of the owners of airline companies that theirs is an enterprise that is imbued with public interest, and as such their primary objective should be to deliver the best service to their clients and not simply to generate profits for themselves and their investors.
Rodriguez, who is a frequent flyer as he shuttles almost weekly between his home in Cagayan de Oro and his work in the House of Representatives here in Manila, said he had witnessed on many occasions how this non-utilization of the air bridge, even if it is readily available, was a source of inconvenience for persons with disabilities, the elderly or mothers with young children in tow.
As it is right now, all passengers of incoming Cebu Pacific flights at the NAIA 3 are being obliged by the crew members to disembark from the plane using a steep staircase. They then are made to board a waiting shuttle bus which will take them to the terminal building several hundred meters away where they can get their respective suitcases at the baggage carousel.
What these Cebu Pacific people seem not to comprehend is that this disembarkation procedure being observed is quite a tedious and laborious process (dangerous even, what if you happen to slip while going down the staircase?) for senior citizens, such as myself, who fly their Airbuses.
Maybe Mr. John should try it out and see for himself if we’re exaggerating.


I would like to offer my belated condolences to the family of veteran mediaman and National Press Club lifetime member Ibarra Samson who is said to have died of a heart attack last month in his home in Valenzuela City.
Born on Jan. 11, 1932, “Tata Barr,” as he is called by close friends and associates, began his lifelong career in broadcast and print media in 1949.
Among his most notable achievements were his interviews of US President Gerald Ford in 1975 for the United States Information Service, astronaut Neil Armstrong after his moon landing in 1969 and Pope John Paul II during the Papal visit in 1981.
At the time of his death, Tata Barr was secretary general of the Association of Senior Citizens of the Philippines and spokesman of the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo.