Sen. JV proposes '3-term' solution to airport woes

SENATOR JV Ejercito urged transportation officials to come up with solid plans of action as the country moves on from a plane accident that involved China's Xiamen airlines which paralyzed the operations of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), weeks ago.

Ejercito, who attended the probe under the Senate Committee on Public Services, pointed out some of his proposed actions to make sure that such airline mishap will not happen again.

He said that the government must go after the personalities accountable for the accident and make them pay for their lapses.

"Moving forward, what we can do now is assess what happened, make those at fault accountable and most importantly, institute plans to avoid these kinds of incidents," Ejercito stressed.

The solon also laid down short-term, medium-term and long-term solutions to the problems hounding the country's main airport.

"My proposals are these... in the short-term, we can speed up the night rating of our airports. Without these, it is difficult to spread flights throughout the day to the provincial airports." Ejercito said.

"In the medium-term, we should also seriously consider having a dual airport and make efficient use of Clark International Airport," he added. Ejercito underscored the need to consider interconnection of the country's existing transportation lines like the Philippine National Railways (PNR) train system to ease the burden on the passengers every time they travel.

He also stressed the need to consider building additional airports in strategic areas that would solve the overcrowding at the NAIA.

"With a fast interconnectivity - the PNR North, NAIA and Clark could complement each other," Ejercito said.

"In the long-term, we should start building a new airport whether in Bulacan or Sangley or anywhere else that is viable," he further explained.

The Senate conducted an inquiry into the two-day closure of a runway in NAIA which canceled some 200 flights and saw thousands of travelers stranded.

The paralysis in airport operations came after a Xiamen Airlines jetliner lost its left engine during a bumpy landing.