TACLOBAN
CITY, Aug. 11 (PNA) -- The city council here will pass a resolution addressed
to the Department of Transportation (DOTr) in a bid to reconsider the decision
of transferring all Tacloban flights to Clark International Airport from the
Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
Vice Mayor
Jerry T. Yaokasin admitted that he first thought the news of rerouting “was
just a joke.”
On
Wednesday, Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade announced in a Senate hearing
that the three airlines – Cebu Pacific, Philippine Airlines, and Air Asia –
agreed to transfer all Tacloban-Manila flights to Clark.
The
rerouting, which will pilot Tacloban flights, is one of the DOTr’s strategy to
decongest the Manila Airport.
"If
this happens, our city and the entire Eastern Visayas will experience a
haemorrhage. Both our tourism and economy will be adversely affected,
especially that we are just recovering from the devastation caused by super
typhoon Yolanda,” Yaokasin said.
The official
also cited the inconvenience of flying to Pampanga before reaching Manila, not
to mention additional expense and extended travel time.
Yaokasin met
with local officials of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines to see
if this is just a proposal or will be pushed through once the President gets
emergency power, its timeline, and impacts.
"The
truth is that I am still praying that our airport will be rehabilitated instead
of transferring flights," Yaokasin added.
Yaokasin
also talked to the Department of Tourism who also shared the same sentiments
that rerouting will kill the local tourism.
After the
DOTr’s pronouncement, netizens in Eastern Visayas have staged an online protest
against the plan by using the hashtag #NoToClarkForTaclobanFlights on social media.
The
Tacloban’s Daniel Z. Romualdez Airport, one of the country’s busiest is the
gateway to Leyte, Biliran, Southern Leyte, Samar, Eastern Samar, and Northern
Samar provinces. (PNA)
FPV/SQM/LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA/EGR
FPV/SQM/LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA/EGR
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