Tugade Orders Immediate Rehabilitation of Zamboanga International Airport; Visits Wake of Slain CAAP Intelligence Officer

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Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Arthur Tugade expressed his great dismay over the terminal facilities he witnessed in a surprise visit at the Zamboanga International Airport (ZIA) yesterday morning.

Sec. Tugade conducted the inspection, along with Aviation Undersecretary Skee Tamayo and officials of the Civil Aviations Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), to personally take a look at the current state of the ZIA, and make sure that appropriate and scheduled improvements are done following his conversation with President Rodrigo Roa Duterte.

The sorry state of the small baggage carousel, the lack of appropriate gang chairs and passenger seats at boarding areas, immediately caught the ire of the Secretary.

Further, during the inspection, Secretary Tugade, discovered multiple potholes as deep as 2 inches from end of runway 09 to runway 27. 

"Nakakadismaya! Hindi matanggap ng kalooban ko na ganito ang sitwasyon ng airport na ginagamit ng mga Zamboangeńo. Dagdagan pa natin ang atensyong  dapat na maibigay sa Zamboanga,” said Tugade.

Rehabilitation of Zamboanga International Airport

To immediately address the issues in the ZIA, Sec. Tugade ordered the immediate procurement of gang chairs to ensure that passengers will be provided with comfortable seats, as well as new baggage carousel to facilitate efficient baggage handling.

Further, Tugade mentioned that he will closely coordinate with the National Housing Authority (NHA) for the relocation of informal settlers that were affected by the Zamboanga seige.

He then ordered CAAP Deputy Director General for Operations Donaldo Mendoza and OIC Deputy Director General for Administration Ric Banayat to make sure that Allison Cargo immediately removes their containers, as the same adversely affect airport security.

The transportation secretary likewise instructed CAAP officials to ensure that the handling area of Cebu Pacific Cargo  becomes restricted, and not open.

The PhP160-million budget for asphalt overlay has recently been awarded this year. Originally, construction is scheduled to commence as soon as the winning bidder is given the notice to proceed.

However, as Secretary Tugade recognizes the need and urgency of employing a swift remedy, he gave an ultimatum to airport officials, and instructed them to start the asphalt overlay of the entire runway, as well as the repair of potholes today, to ensure the safety of the aircrafts and its passengers during landing and take off. Sealing of cracks will commence immediately.

Asphalt overlay of the whole runway will take several months, as work can only be done at night when there are no more flights till early morning.

"Pagbalik ko at hindi pa maayos ang Zamboanga Airport, pag-uuntugin ko mga ulo ninyo. Sisiguraduhin kong may mananagot dito," he said.

Visit to Slain CAAP Officer

While in Zamboanga, Sec. Tugade likewise used the opportunity to pay his respect and express condolence to the family of the slain CAAP Officer in Charge (OIC) for Intelligence Jeric Flores, who was shot dead in his house near the airport Saturday evening.

At the morgue, Tugade assured the grieving wife that all efforts will be exerted so that justice maybe served.

"Tayo po ay lubos na nakikiramay sa mga naulila ni Mr. Flores. Makakaasa po kayo na katuwang tayo sa paghahanap ng hustisya para sa kanya," Tugade said.

Apart from offering financial assistance for the wake and funeral, the transportation chief also offered to provide Flores' wife with employment should she desires.

Initial investigation of the police cites Flores' refusal to sign a ghost project worth PhP300 thousand pesos as the possible motive in the killing.

Flores is also part of the CAAP team auditing the airport says ZIA OIC Toto Alfonso, the assigned airport manager.

ZIA management has been under careful scrutiny recently as Airport Manager Naga Rascal was suspended by the Ombudsman due to alleged involvement in corrupt activities.

ICAO Lauds PH’s CO2 Emissions Reduction Plan for Aviation

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International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Secretary General Fang Lui commended the Philippines on its voluntary submission of its State Action Plan on CO2 Emissions Reduction for International Aviation.

In a letter sent to the Civil Aviations Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) last 5 March, Secretary General Liu praised the Philippine Government for its commitment towards environmental sustainability.

“The submission of an Action Plan provides an opportunity to establish and showcase strategies to reduce aviation emission,” Dr. Liu said.

A State Action Plan is a voluntary planning and reporting tool for countries to communicate information on their activities to address international civil aviation’s CO2 emissions. It aims for better understanding of the share and projections of international aviation CO2 emissions, enhanced cooperation between all aviation stakeholders that can positively reflect on their operational areas, and the identification of the most relevant mitigation actions.

The Philippines’ State Action Plan indicates the activities undertaken by the country, as well as planned mitigation strategies that it wants to implement in the future to further reduce C02 emissions in the sky.

These mitigation measures include the development of Bio-Fuel (used cooking oil) as an alternative fuel and improve the air traffic management and infrastructure through the establishment of a performance-based navigation (PBN) system in all public aerodromes which increases airspace capacity, improves aviation safety, and reduces aviation activities’ environmental impact.

According to CAAP, the Philippines’ State Action Plan on CO2 Emissions Reduction was achieved because of the initiatives of both DOTr and CAAP, through the upright leadership of Secretary Arthur Tugade. 

As a firm advocate of clean air and environment, Secretary Tugade has been pushing for pollution reduction initiatives in all sectors of transportation. 

"Hindi lang sa mga Public Utility Vehicles nakatuon ang kampanya ng DOTr kontra polusyon kundi pati sa mga eroplano, barko, at iba pang uri ng transportasyon. Walang exempted dito. This is our commitment to global efforts in mitigating climate change," said Tugade.

In 2017, our country also proved its compliance with international safety standards by succesfully passing the Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme of the ICAO Coordinated Validation Mission. In the audit, airports in the Philippines got an overall result of 70.19%, which is above the global average (64%), and significantly higher than the previous rating (59.94%).

Though the result notably improved than that of the previous years, Secretary Tugade challenged everyone in CAAP to exceed their performance this year. That way, the public is always assured of safe and convenient air travel in the country.

TRANSGEN: Awakening to the Digital Age of HR Post-Event Report

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TRANSGEN: Awakening to the Digital Age of HR aimed to equip Human Resource Development Management students with strategic knowledge on HR management that correspond to the environment of this digital age. Seminars alike will help increase their competency and thus further contribute to the industry as they enter the workforce in the coming years.

The event was held last February 21, 2018 at the Claro M. Recto Hall, 6th Floor-South
Wing, Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Sta. Mesa Manila and was attended by human resource development management students from various universities and colleges such as Eulogio Amang Rodriguez Institute of Science and Technology, National College of Business and Arts, Far Eastern University, Mapua University, and more including students from both PUP Manila and Taguig branches.

BSBA-HRDM 4-1D has invited credible speakers to give a talk on the topics, “The Role of the Human Capital in the Digital Age” and “Impacts and Changes of the Digital Era.”

Mr. Darwin Rivers, a well-known and accredited life coach shared his knowledge on what will be the role of the human capital and its importance even in the digital age where most human resource processes are digitalized. On the other hand, Mr. Anthony Lawrence Santos, an HR Professional from ICATS, delivered a talk on what will be the impact of the digital era and the changes that will happen to the traditional practices of HR.

TRANSGEN 2018 was executed successfully with the coordination of its organizers and
their generous sponsors and media partners. Although there was a slight technical difficulty, which sometimes cannot be avoided, the critical thinking of the organizers and hosts was enough to keep the program running and dead air was avoided.

Wazzup Pilipinas is a proud media partner.