an open letter to the Manila International Airport Authority
25 January 2011
Mr. Jose Angel A. Honrado
General Manager
Manila International Airport Authority
Pasay City
Philippines
Dear Mr. Honrado:
We are staunch advocates of local tourism. We strongly believe that responsible ecotourism is a good driver of sustainable economic development. If there is anything we Filipinos can be proud of, it is the unparalleled physical beauty of our country, and the inner beauty of our people.
But those of us who travel extensively domestically and internationally know how cumbersome, inefficient and opportunistic our traveling systems are, particularly our airports and seaports.
Take the case of the gateways of the country: our airports. There has been a marked improvement in the physical facilities of our airports, for which we congratulate those responsible for it. However, there is so much that needs to be done to further upgrade our services and make it truly world-class. We respectfully invite your attention to the tedious process of checking in and of departing from all our airports — the first and last stop of all local and international travelers.
To recall, the objective of a good airport is to make travel procedures as seamless and efficient as possible. Our airports have become perfect examples of bureaucracy, inefficiency, and what airport systems should NOT be. Indeed, it is also an example of the “checkpoint mentality” of our government.
Note:
1. There are security guards who pretend to conduct a cursory check on the entering cars. They wave their flashlights in the direction of the glove compartment and pretend to look inside the trunk. In reality, what they achieve is to waste the time of the passenger and create a garrison mentality.
2. In the entry doors of the airport, there is another guard who checks the ticket and ID. At this point begins unnecessary waiting lines.
3. There is an X-ray at the main door. While there are often a number of x-ray machines, there is only one or two open, thus creating another extended queue, and another delay.
Thursday, January 13, 2011, NAIA-3
Thursday, January 13, 2011, PAL Centennial Airport
4. At the NAIA-3, yet another guard checks the ticket and ID before the check-in counter.
5. Check-in counter
6. After checking in, we proceed to another line. We line up to pay an exorbitant amount of two hundred pesos (PhP 200.00) as the “terminal fee.” In all our travels around the world, only the Philippine airports collect a terminal fee. If we are so impoverished and must collect this terminal fee, can we not incorporate it in the price of the ticket? This would considerably ease the flow and movement of passengers at our airports. Institutions, such as airline companies and the NAIA administration office, are better placed to do the collection and remittances of large amounts of funds.
But that is not all. After paying this senseless terminal fee, we proceed to line up again for the utter futility discussed in no. 7.
7. A few meters after the booth where we pay the terminal fee, there is another stop where another officer called the Inspector Verifier will cut off the stub from the receipt of the terminal fee. This is especially true in NAIA-3 and in the Mactan-Cebu International Airport.
Thursday, January 13, 2011, NAIA-3
8. Then, after this, there is another X-ray machine. In almost all of the most airports in the world, this is the only X-ray machine that checks the hand-carried baggage. Even in the very security-conscious United States, there is only one X-ray check, and that is right before the pre-departure area.
Thursday, January 13, 2011, PAL Centennial Airport
9. Then the final check right before boarding.
This can actually be reduced to only three stages: check-in, X-ray and body check prior to entering the pre-departure area, and then at the final boarding. This is the standard used by most airports.
The process for international travel from the NAIA and PAL Centennial Airport is even worse because of the additional “checkpoints”:
1. Checking of boarding pass before entry into immigration area
2. Payment of an exorbitant terminal fee of PhP 750.00, or something like $13.45, as if people walk around with that exact change in their pockets. Worse, one cannot even pay with a credit card.
3. Immigration
4. Checking of boarding passes before being allowed to enter the pre-departure gate
5. Another check of baggage before boarding
In the international arrival area, despite the fact that we have nothing to declare, we are made to fill up a form. This is checked by the customs officer. A few meters after the customs officer, there is another person who takes some part of the stub. Also, we are the only airport that still checks on the bag tags by more security guards at the exit door.
Most of these are not only cumbersome and downright stupid procedures, but they also create an impression that we are just putting hoops to make it difficult for tourists. We also create meaningless jobs for unemployed protégés of politicians or bureaucrats who have nothing better to do. This is a waste of people’s hard-earned money.
We respectfully request that your good office take the initiative to review this process and streamline it with the end in view. These cumbersome and repetitious processes have not made our airport and air travel any more secure. As a matter of fact, notwithstanding all these, our airports have been downgraded for its lack of security. It is not the processes that needs strengthening, rather the management of our civil aviation systems. In the news recently was a disturbing piece of information: there was damage in some aviation equipment, and the replacement part had to be ‘cannibalized’ / removed from existing damaged aviation equipment.
One must ask: where is all the money collected from the terminal fees going? Is it paying the security guards and personnel who have been placed in our airports to make our lives and travel difficult? In almost all of the airports of the world, there is no “terminal fee” being collected. If there is any payment of terminal fees at all, it is incorporated in the ticket. Incidentally, and in this respect, may we respectfully request for a financial report from your good office as to the uses of the terminal fees collected from passengers in the last five years. Despite all the monies received, as of January 2011, none of the three airports in Manila had free and consistent wireless Internet access. The pre-departure area in NAIA-1 did not even have working electrical outlets. The restrooms are still small and badly maintained. The Mactan-Cebu Airport recently installed sensor-type flushing mechanisms in their water closets, a water-wasteful technology. When checked last January 22, 2011, none of them worked! We also do not have seats allocated for the handicapped in the pre-departure areas. In other international airports around the world, there are seats near the gates for the handicapped.
While other airports around the world try to institutionalize seamless airport procedures, we are overacting to try to create a perception of security. This is not a mark of our ability to put an effective security measures. Rather, it is a mark of idiotic redundancy, utter inefficiency, and senseless and useless red tape. We end up making ourselves look ridiculous. It creates the impression that we live in a garrison state, paranoid to the nth degree, and/or are promoting unnecessary red tape right in the gateways of our country. It is a poor reflection of our people. It is also an example of a very Third World mentality — the very impression we are trying to change as a country and as a people.
Having said all these, we do not need to wonder why we have few tourists compared to our neighboring Southeast Asian countries. We have a saying in Filipino, which, when translated, means that the most difficult people to awaken are those who are already awake. Our airport officials know how utterly ridiculous these procedures are, but refuse to improve it for reasons known only to them.
There are so many other things we need to improve to make our country travel-friendly, among them having clean toilets, honest cab drivers, and traffic decongestion. But if there is one area we can work on right away to make travel to and within the Philippines easy, convenient, passenger-visitor-friendly and seamless, it is our airports — the very face of our beautiful and beloved country.
Thank you in anticipation of your kind consideration and expeditious action on the matter as we look forward to your reply[1]. We trust that this letter finds you in good health and spirits as we again congratulate you, thank you, and wish you the best of luck in your efforts to improve our airports. If there is any way we can be of help in the terms of suggestions and ideas, please do not hesitate to let us know.
Very truly yours,
Atty. Antonio A. Oposa Anna R. Oposa
a.oposa@gmail.com aroposa@gmail.com
[1] Republic Act 9485 (2007) also known as the Anti-Red Tape Law mandates that public officials must respond to letters of citizens within 5-10 days from receipt with a report on the action taken on the matter. Please see also Republic Act 6713 (Code of Conduct for Public Officials), and Rep. Act 3019. We have purposely put in our email addresses to ensure speedy and inexpensive transmittal of your reply.
Cc:
Office of the President, Malacañang Palace
Ms. Julia Abad, Chief of Staff
Presidential Management Staff
Hon. Jose de Jesus, Secretary
Department of Transportation and Communications
Hon. Alberto A. Lim, Secretary
Department of Tourism
Mr. Carmelo L. Arcilla, Executive Director
Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB)
Mr. Ramon S. Gutierrez, Deputy Director-General for Administration
Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP)
Mr. Lucio Tan, Chairman of the Board
Mr. Jaime Bautista, President
Philippine Airlines
Mr. Lance Gokongwei, President
Cebu Pacific
Mr. Paul Villarete, General Manager
Mactan-Cebu International Airport
Mr. Reynaldo Villar, Chairman
Commission on Audit
Tanodbayan, Office of the Ombudsman
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Print and Electronic Media Outlets
January 25th, 2011 at 7:01 am
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Anna Oposa and Anna Oposa, Anna Oposa. Anna Oposa said: open letter to the Manila International Airport Authority http://bit.ly/ex77Dn #helpDOT @TeamManila @WowPhilippines @TourismPinas @xplorePH [...]
January 25th, 2011 at 2:50 pm
Nice one! Here’s a link to an article in the New York Times on airport security: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/25/business/25road.html?smid=tw-nytimes
January 25th, 2011 at 3:36 pm
Wow finally someone put it in writing THANK YOU SO MUCH! ABSOLUTELY AGREE 101%!!!
January 25th, 2011 at 5:15 pm
thank you for this wonderful letter…please let us know how we (the public) may be of help to facilitate that this gets the properaction and reaction to improve the airports and seaports of the PH. Not just to diminish red tape but to actually make us all feel safe travelling in/within/out of the PH Airport/seaports.
More power.
Regina
January 25th, 2011 at 8:01 pm
Atty. Oposa. Thank you for your time in writing this letter. It was of good intentions however, security has more importance than convenience. Some of the strict Airport procedures that looked cumbersome existed since the Martial law days. After the rash of bombings and hijacking worldwide, some procedures used in the Philippines since 1972 was instituted worldwide especially since 9-11. This is one reason Manila International Airport (NAIA) is the safest although not the most convenient airport. I would rather be inconvenienced rather than my security compromised. The xray in almost every corner in the airport is already common in most airports, Philippines just uses the old types where you can see it. The checking of bags before going to the gates were there since 1972, most world airports adopted that since 9-11, and this is especially practiced if the threat level is orange and aboveThe only thing not seen in airports outside the Philippines are people with big TVs and highly taxable items that line up in the “Nothing to Declare” line going back. And this is an example why other stricter measures are needed there.
Lastly, all airports collect terminal fees, otherwise it will have difficulties in terms of cash flow, they call it differently. In our case in the US, we pay about 75 dollars of different fees in addition to our ticket a boig percentage goes to the airport.
January 25th, 2011 at 9:34 pm
Thanks for your letter. Hope that something really happens this time. Red tape is the worst at NAIA, right at our very own international gateway.
January 25th, 2011 at 10:08 pm
Don’t forget the additional queue that Filipinos have to go through when paying the P1650 travel tax every time one travels abroad. It’s not clearly explained what this fee is for or where it goes to. I believe it’s more convenient for this fee to be incorporated in the ticket price as well.
Nice letter by the way. Now I hope they take action.
January 25th, 2011 at 11:59 pm
Wow, this is well said! Thank you very much for expressing what many Filipino travelers would like to say. And i really agree with Faith on the Travel tax which i have long been asking about but have never gotten a good answer.
Again, thanks for bravely loving our country.
I will wait with you on this matter.
God bless.
January 26th, 2011 at 12:23 am
Security, convenience and effiency can be achieved hand in hand. Scrutiny in a tired system such as the policies in effect at the international airport in the Philippines should be met by the authorities in achieving such goals.
In my personal experience when travelling there, the worst of it is when you are leaving the Philippines. You are left with the complete utter annoyance of the system, left shaking your head, and left with the memory of how that airport is one of the last impressions you are left with when leaving the Philippines. Way to go Phillippine tourism…
January 26th, 2011 at 1:30 am
What about the securities at the xray who asks for tips or wants something from your bag as souvenirs……..are they securities or customs…they are really disgusting as they ask for them in front of everyone. I was confronted for some tip almost all the time as I look like a japanese….there is this time where I brought cooked crabs for my friend in Taiwan, they were asking for it too. How degrading. My answer to them is: Sino ka ba, bakit bibigay ko sayo ng tip or yung “alimango” ko. Surprised they were that I spoke tagalog.
January 26th, 2011 at 1:39 am
I have to add that the immigration has improved a lot though. Kudos to the airport immigration of the Philippines. They service with a smile(not all though)now, they are more courteous and more efficient now.
January 26th, 2011 at 6:29 am
I too would like to thank you for going to the trouble of outlining what slows down the processes at our airport. We must accept Airport Security is paramount these days and steps to insure passenger safety must be undertaken, but if the security guards/rent-a-cop obviously have no clue what he’s looking for, and is just going through motions to look like he knows what he’s doing, is a waste of time and resources.
The “other” steps that cause a massive slow down of the flow of passengers should be addressed. Things that should be simple should not be complicated. and yes, please, show us where and how the fees collected, get spent.
now we wait.
January 26th, 2011 at 7:10 am
Dear Marciano Pulilan,
I just cannot take it when i am being nickeled to the last dime whenever i visit other parts of my beautiful country. the thing is, madalas mas mura pa ang ticket compared sa terminal fee, which sucks, right?!
@anna,
I agree to all that you said.
Asar din ako sa mga overpriced na bilihin sa airport. I cant blame them bec they have to do that to pay the high rental fees. Which again leads me to asks, “Saan napupunta yan?”
Saka di lang sa Manila 200 ang terminal fee diba. Sa cebu, davao, iloilo, bacolod, di ko pa alam yung iba. I think may wifi sa NAIA 2, mahina nga lang or minsan not working. Sa Cebu naman, may computer room kaya lang office hours lang open.
Still the best answer to wifi all our airports. Thats just 2000/month + routers. Bus liners like Jac Liner have wifi buses already.
January 26th, 2011 at 7:42 am
-P1650 travel tax for the Filipinos, and PXX thous for the non Filipino tourists who happen to stay just a day more than 30,charges increase per extra day . This is charged upon leaving, before boarding, when the tourist has probably used up all their pesos and will probably have to pay in foreign money(probably what they want)because he was not informed about it beforehand. (explanation accdng to airport staff: date stamped or written upon arrival, but not explained what it means, is the last day w/o charge) The feeling is like having to pay a toll (NPA style) otherwise you cannot board; like being cheated and robbed in broad daylight and with the blessings of the Phil govt and transport authorities. SHAME, SHAME, SHAME.
January 26th, 2011 at 8:10 am
Bravo! As an expat who lives here in Manila and travels extensively around the world, I have never been to a terminal worse than here in the Philippines. I’ve even been to airports in other less impoverished third world countries yet Philippines by far is the most inefficient and tedious of them all.
Attorney Aposa is absolutely right. I have many foreigner friends who have no desire to re-enter/transit this country after the many difficult hurdles they must go through just to catch a flight. I hope these procedures are seriously re-evaluated.
January 26th, 2011 at 6:32 pm
My sentiments exactly…kudos to you for doing us a great favor! :-) I pray that the government would really do something about it. And now we are at it, I hope that they also do realize how checking of handbags/purses when entering the mall is also very ridiculous and clearly shows how third world we are!!!
January 26th, 2011 at 9:34 pm
Although I agree with most points of this letter, there are a couple I would disagree with. Like when they check for your ID and ticket before entering the airport. I personally think it is just right so they can assure that the only people inside the airport are passengers, not just any other person who wants to see the inside of the airport. Which would you rather have? The long queue before you enter, or an extremely crowded airport because of well-wishers crowding inside? You know Filipinos. The whole clan sends or picks up a relative from the airport. Take your pick. Lastly, I think the baggage claim stub is necessary. How would you feel if you lost a baggage because somebody else intentionally took it? I, for one, am sure that they really check if the numbers match due to experience.
January 26th, 2011 at 9:34 pm
Personally I believe that the process is considerably fast, at least for NAIA-3. Maybe part of the reason is in some difference in protocol among the three terminals, but I digress.
Airport authorities are legally allowed to collect reasonable terminal fees, I believe, and at the very least it has to be approved by law or the CAA. If you must complain about the Travel Tax, maybe the issue should be raised to Congress because only they have the power to remove or lower it.
I must agree about the lax security check, though. I can only hope nothing bad would happen.
January 26th, 2011 at 10:29 pm
1.NAIA 1 was built during martial law,de signed,penetrated and run by govt.security forces of all sorts.NAIA 2 and 3 Terminals are run with the same mentality of security intelligence, customs and aviation, none schooled in public-oriented airport operations, courtesy and safety, passenger handling, mass flow transportation and terminal administration.The Manila airports are teeming with such plainclothes and armed uniformed men in great numbers.It is a corrupted,perpetuating and abusive display of ineffective presence in the guise of providing security resulting in public anger and frustration.
2. “The security belt” prohibits domestic and international customers from patronizing unfranschised public transports.Public buses are prohibited to take passengers when in fact taxis, public buses and shuttle vans are the fastest and cheapest airport transport modes.Take note that mainstream airport parking areas are now exclusive for 24-hr parking of airport government employeees and franschised taxis.
3. One local carrier, Cebu Pacific, does not allow use oftentimes of the passenger walk tube at the Iloilo and perhaps Cebu and other terminals, to save presumably on user fees. Thus passengers have to walk down the airport tarmac and to climb at the rear and front of the airplane, an inconvenient and unsafe imposition of the carrier tolerated by the airport authorities .
January 27th, 2011 at 4:28 am
Thanks for your letter. There must be more ways to publicise this (letter), as I am sure millions will share these frustrations and concerns.
Each time I go back to the Philippines, I am always traumatised by my airport experiences – my own country, and I am afraid of those in immigration, the procedures, the ‘travel tax’ (which is illegal by the way), the security, etc. etc. More than once I have been reduced to tears by extremely unhelpful staff and scary security who bark at you like you are scum. A thousand times I’ve heard how horrible our airports are both from locals and foreign travellers alike.
I am also ceaselessly appalled about how passport control degradingly treats our OFW’s when in line (and are very nice to tourists and foreigners). They who prop up our economy and likewise all Filipinos who wish the Philippines to rise from its shambles are the most mistreated in our own airports.
Our airports reflect the reality of our corrupt and inefficient systems – the old unprogressive mentalities that those who have the power to change, refuse to change. Our equally developing neighbours have surpassed us (as always).
January 27th, 2011 at 11:06 am
Great article! I agree with you completely. Maybe you could also include immigration in your letter. We came from Hong Kong last January 1, 2011. We were at NAIA 1 together with another flight from Korea. It took us 1 hr just to pass through immigration. All the officers were chit-chatting with OFWs and tourists. It is so inconvenient and very unprofessional. Unlike in HONG KONG, immigration line won’t take as long as an hour just to pass through. Also, the travel tax is also a concern. Why do you have to pay so much when you get to the airport? Why not include it in the ticket when you pay through the travel agency or online. Check-in counters can just check if the person paid the travel tax or not. If the person didn’t pay, then ask them to pay at the travel tax counter and fine them. Terminal fee should not be charged at the airport anymore. It should be included during the sale of the ticket. Please inform us of their reply. Thanks in advance! Great job! :)
January 27th, 2011 at 4:06 pm
Hello!
As an expat and development worker in the Philippines, I have been frustrated by how difficult it can be to arrange something as simple as an airport pick up and drop off. I recently organised a regional youth meeting in the Philippines and nearly cried from the sheer logistical hell that is organising pick ups. I can’t underscore enough the points you have so articulately put forth.
In addition to the airport fees for International flights (700 PhP), expats with a Philippine Residence Visa and an ACR card pay an extra 2,100 PhP at the Immigration counter EVERY SINGLE TIME they leave the Philippines. I have tried (to no avail) to figure out WHAT I’m paying for, but I haven’t a clue. The receipts say Immigration and have a fee for you to go through the VIP/Speed Lane. I’ve tried to say that it’s OK, I don’t mind waiting in line and not paying for the Speed Lane; but of course I can’t do that as it’s against the rules.
Thanks again for a fantastic letter- incredibly on point!
January 27th, 2011 at 5:18 pm
Hi Tito Tony and Anna,
I hope you remember me. I met you again last Christmas in Cagayan de Oro. :) I stumbled on this by accident.
Good job. You put into words what everyone wants to say. Hope they hear us.
p.s. I heard that they collect terminal fees and travel tax separately because of the numerous exemptions they grant. For example, OFWs, seamen and athletes get tax eand terminal fee exemptions.
January 27th, 2011 at 9:30 pm
Provide inter-terminal connection/access (walkalators or free bus shuttles!) and access to public transport (train station on the terminal or a bus station!). In Terminal 3, they intentionally closed the gate opening to the road. No to the airport transport mafia! :(
Teach immigration people manners in dealing with our people! As if everyone is involved in human trafficking. (Is it constitutional for Immigration/DOJ to bar people for “lack of travel documents”? All you need are your ticket, passport and/or visa. )
January 28th, 2011 at 12:01 am
I completely and utterly agree except for the note about security checking the bag tags before leaving the “secure” baggage area in the ARRIVAL section. I would rather the security continue checking baggage tags as there are just too many people coming in and out of that area. Someone might inadvertently (or not) walk out with my own bags and I prefer that added precaution. Which brings me to my own observation that the “meet & greet” practice in the arrival area is still very rampant. I thought this was banned already? From my own trips late last year and just recently, I’ve witnessed people (with IDs even) who cross the immigration counter from the baggage area to ‘kowtow’ to certain passengers as they are lining up for the Immigration counters. They were obviously there to facilitate the said passengers through immigration and customs. And the baggages of the said passengers are always, without fail, numerous and enormous! Can’t help but think that money is changing hands as the scene I’ve witnessed just last week coming home from Hong Kong involved 2 passengers and 10 sacks (each the size equivalent to 2 ‘balikbayan’ boxes)! Did the immigration officer even bat an eyelash when they were escorted off the line? No. Did customs even ask to inspect what’s inside those humongous sacks? Definitely NO!
January 28th, 2011 at 8:10 am
I hope they start with those filthy bathrooms! Eek!
January 28th, 2011 at 7:38 pm
I would like to invite whoever is in charge of our international airports to visit the Tan Son Nhat International Airport in HCM City, Vietnam…. these guys are light years ahead of us in ensuring a seamless entry into their country. Same goes for exiting…none of the bottlenecks that make departing passengers curse the management of the NAIA.
January 28th, 2011 at 8:54 pm
Why post it here? To get attention? Be more professional.
January 28th, 2011 at 10:35 pm
Put an express signages or queueing guide in all immigration posts. Only in the philippines has no electronic signages e.g. visitors, particulary in NAIA Terminal 3 to avoid confusion.
Also, provide express service post for filipino who wants to enter or leaving the country just like other country who has their own express lane for their fellow national
January 28th, 2011 at 10:45 pm
Good eye-opener! We hope they will do something about this to!
paying travel tax is too much since we have already paid tax on our ticket then it should not be included.
January 31st, 2011 at 6:38 pm
can’t beleive why did this people wud say such thing without knowing why such payments have been collected in the airport separate from the ticket eg. terminal fee.,did they know that filipino workers “global pinoy” as we call them now are exmpted in this fee?…. and such our athletes, pilgrims etc..?… all of this have been done in favor of our beloved co-pinoy who works abroad to established and give there family good life… a msg to you guys?..be conssiderate and be tyhankful that coz of those positions there are your fellow kbabayan who have there work and in return is an income for there family…..
and a floating question…
would you exchange your safety into convenience?
February 1st, 2011 at 2:57 pm
Thank you thank you thank you for making the effort to take action on an issue which I’ve long been upset about but haven’t done anything about. It takes concerned people like you and your father to change our country one citizen at a time.
The last time I departed from NAIA 3, I stood in ten different lines, which is perhaps the worst problem of many at the airport. In particular the ridiculous queue/system to pay travel tax took one hour. There were seven people behind a desk to do the simplest thing–you pay P1,620, they give you back a receipt. However if you’ve seen how they have actually organized it, you’ve probably shared my thoughts–only our government employees could design a system so dumb that I couldn’t have thought of it even if someone had paid me. As you said, between the inefficiency, redundancy, and red tape (you would think you’re applying for a passport with all of the information they write down at the travel tax line), we look like third world idiots who are just inventing ways to create jobs.
I am glad that Maj. Gen. Honrado (by the way, why is he a general?) replied to your letter but I find his response insufficient. There are 1,001 ways to improve our airports and it has to do with managing people and systems even more than money. It is no excuse for someone in his position that he needs more time. He needs more accountability.
February 1st, 2011 at 3:54 pm
another thing to add is the transportation just like Hong Kong. Hong Kong has “free” shuttle service from airport to hotels and hotels to airport. MIAA should at least “copy” this or make a way so that tourists, balikbayan, locals can feel that MIAA cares for their convenience and safety. Hong Kong airport has been there for years and I doubt that MIAA officials don’t use internet to know that HK airport do exist. Thanks again for your letter.
February 1st, 2011 at 4:11 pm
salamat po at na post nyo po ito. sobrang gulo at bulok ang systema ng airport sa pinas. may terminal fee pa (para saan) wala naman improvement yung facilities nila. pangit at konting bagyo na lang yata liliparin na pati airport.
sa mga taga airport & pnoy… HOY GISING.
February 1st, 2011 at 10:05 pm
The security procedures like the checking of cars before entering and the Xray machines at the entrance to the terminal should not go.It makes me feel more secure, esp. since bombings are becoming a habit by terrorists. Look what just happened a week ago at that bus. The airport management should look into the immigration personnel and airport staff, background check them, they could have ties to terrorists and syndicates too for all you know. The immigration staff are very rude, disrectful, conceited, and are power-tripping. Teach them to LEARN TO SMILE, to be polite, corteous, friendly and respectful. They should not be overly suspicious of their fellow Pinoys because ultimately, those Pinoys, if they will do something wrong, then the immigration officer of their place of destination would have to ultimately deal with them. Wag utak talangka.
Also, that exorbitant Travel Tax and Terminal fee, will someone stood up from our privileged lawmakers and propose to scrap it? It is direct taxation and is out of touch with reality. The travel tax was imposed to supress the outflow of supposed cash in the 1970′s. To deter foreign travel by Filipinos who would instead travel within the Philippines. Whoa, how stooooopid that idea is now, now that the world has evolved into a global economy. Napaka-backwards ng mentality ng law na yan imposing travel tax. Yang Terminal fee naman na yan, wow, 200 pag domestic, 750 pag international, same terminal. whoa na naman sa logic. dahil international kaya dapat mahal, nevermind na same procedure(naiba lang ng konti sa intl.) and same terminal, mas mahal ng almost 400 times pag int’l. ONLY IN THE Philippines!
Sa totoo lang, Attorneys Oposa, I appreciate this post, and the points raised therein. But more would have appreciated it, if you touched more on that Exorbitant Travel Tax and Terminal fee. Pure, pangingikil ng gobyerno.
No hope though with the current President. Trivia: he did not go out of the country since 1990 daw. He only went out of the country when he became President. So go figure. He will have zero experience in what an ordinary Pinoy traveler would have experienced in our airports, because as President, he is accorded all the luxuries and convenience when travelling.
February 13th, 2011 at 1:55 am
NAIA is not perfect. no airport in any part of the world is. do we really know and can explain in simple terms the meaning of a “world class airport”? yes, i agree with some of the point raised here by atty oposa but i have to say most of the points raised are for the stubborn.
first, security is needed! kapag may sumabog na bomba sa naia, for sure marami nanaman ang magsasabing kulang ang airport security. are we going to pick convenience over security? i hope not. and please wag po nating maliitin ang mga hamak na security guards who stand in their posts for hours checking about a hundred cars per day and say that they are blissfully ignorant about what they are doing. THEY ARE DOING THEIR PART IN PROTECTING THE TRAVELLING PUBLIC! at least we owe it to them to give the benefit of the doubt that they know what they are doing. ikaw kaya ang tumayo dun.
second, what is the fuzz about the Php200 (about S4) terminal fee? this is also known as the aiport tax in some jurisdictions. google it. this practice is not unusual, a lot of airports around the world collect this. OFWs, athletes, pilgrims etc are exempted from this fee. kung may pambili ka ng ticket ng eroplano malamang naman siguro you have 200pesos. this is used by the way in the improvement of the terminals in case you havent noticed the security equipments, thermal scanners etc.
third. the lines are really there! hindi naman pwedeng laging ikaw nalang ang una, we have to line up and wait for our turn. in comes the “ako muna attitude” of us filipinos. notice that when we drive our cars?
these are procedures that we have to follow. security, immigration. arrival departure cards. terminal fees. what is so stupid and senseless about these things?? gusto niyo po bang gawin na parang MRT style nalang ang airports natin sa luwag? is that our definition of “world class”?
to improve them maybe, probably. but to completely eliminate them, this is what i say is stupid and senseless.
March 5th, 2011 at 1:41 am
Hmmm… operative word I got from previous post: “feeling.” When did the feeling of security actually mean “REALLY” secure?
Go to Ben Gurion airport and you really do feel secure… they make no pretense at racial profiling as a tool (don’t give a damn to what the civil liberties group say).
Honestly, the security in NAIA airport security seems mostly for show. Come think about it… they have to do the security checks over and over again to get it “right.” Or have they?
March 7th, 2011 at 10:15 pm
After reading this article, I feel for the author, but I just want to weigh in with a few comments. These points the author raised diminish the message he wanted to send –
“1. There are security guards who pretend to conduct a cursory check on the entering cars. They wave their flashlights in the direction of the glove compartment and pretend to look inside the trunk. In reality, what they achieve is to waste the time of the passenger and create a garrison mentality.”
– What about the guards in the malls who check your trunk and look under your car? Similar setup. It takes time, but the security serves as a deterrent in the off chance they see something suspicious.
“6. After checking in, we proceed to another line. We line up to pay an exorbitant amount of two hundred pesos (PhP 200.00) as the “terminal fee.” In all our travels around the world, only the Philippine airports collect a terminal fee. If we are so impoverished and must collect this terminal fee, can we not incorporate it in the price of the ticket? This would considerably ease the flow and movement of passengers at our airports. Institutions, such as airline companies and the NAIA administration office, are better placed to do the collection and remittances of large amounts of funds.”
– Soekarno International Airport in Jakarta charges IDR 150,000 (around USD17) as terminal fee. And isn’t it ALREADY an institution collecting the funds — NAIA itself?
“8. Then, after this, there is another X-ray machine. In almost all of the most airports in the world, this is the only X-ray machine that checks the hand-carried baggage. Even in the very security-conscious United States, there is only one X-ray check, and that is right before the pre-departure area.”
That’s because other airports have X-ray machines right at the gates, which not everyone can afford (i.e. Changi in Singapore). But I take exception to the author’s rant of ‘almost all airports in the world’ — Tan Son Nhat in Ho Chi Minh has a similar setup, with only a couple. Even Pudong International in Shanghai has the same setup (albeit with a lot more x-ray machines).
“The process for international travel from the NAIA and PAL Centennial Airport is even worse because of the additional “checkpoints”:
1. Checking of boarding pass before entry into immigration area
2. Payment of an exorbitant terminal fee of PhP 750.00, or something like $13.45, as if people walk around with that exact change in their pockets. Worse, one cannot even pay with a credit card.
3. Immigration
4. Checking of boarding passes before being allowed to enter the pre-departure gate
5. Another check of baggage before boarding”
– This is the exact procedure for international travel everywhere (with the possible exception of #2), EVEN in larger airports (i.e. Changi). In fact, in Singapore, they put up an automated immigration machine (you just scan your passport and use a thumbprint reader)…but once you get past that there are guards waiting to check your boarding passes.
“In the international arrival area, despite the fact that we have nothing to declare, we are made to fill up a form. This is checked by the customs officer. A few meters after the customs officer, there is another person who takes some part of the stub. Also, we are the only airport that still checks on the bag tags by more security guards at the exit door.”
– Some people DO have to declare items. Regarding bag tags, this is to prevent theft or taking wrong luggage — it doesn’t happen often (I hope), but it happened to me a few years back on a trip from Cebu, when a person took my luggage by accident; the luggage tag check (at the old Domestic Airport terminal) prevented him from leaving with the wrong bag.
“Despite all the monies received, as of January 2011, none of the three airports in Manila had free and consistent wireless Internet access. The pre-departure area in NAIA-1 did not even have working electrical outlets.”
– ??? Since when was free internet access a requirement for an airport? Soekarno (Jakarta), Tan Son Nhat (Ho Chi Minh), Pudong International (Shanghai), Heathrow (London), Charles de Gaulle (Paris), Fiumicino (Rome), Marco Polo (Venice) – no free internet access. Suvarnabhumi (Bangkok) – 15 minutes free access only.
March 15th, 2011 at 1:55 pm
Dear Ms. Oposa,
I included POEA, DTI & business associations as most of our travelers are OFWs & businessmen. I’m in the overseas manpower export industry. But I didn’t experience what you went through in Singapore in 2009.
I like your blog. But may I suggest you forego your plan for Sec of Tourism. Thailand has more than 5 times our tourist inflow, w/o having a Sec/Min of Tourism. Aim for a diplomatic post instead. As future first lady, you will be accompanying your husband in state visits. Regards.
Butch Cantos
April 7th, 2011 at 12:38 am
I totally agree with everything you said.
Everytime we travel the airport experience is one thing I dread the most.
At the international arrival, after you’ve gone through customs and the men at the gate get the stubs you get to walk out of the airport.
At this point you feel that someone will come up to you and ask you for some dole out. “Ser, baka meron naman kay dyan”. “Pang merienda lang”.
And you also hear these stories of people coming from the airport being intercepted and robbed on their way home. Parang may sindikato sa airport na nagsasabi kung aling sasakyan ang kaalis lang at mukhang pwede nakawan.
Magbago naman ho tayong mga Pinoy!
May 2nd, 2011 at 11:35 am
[...] Special thanks: Anna Oposa [...]
May 3rd, 2011 at 10:26 pm
Atty Aposa, you wrote a very nice letter. Unfortunately 4 months after, nothing happened. In fact, now the NAIA is in the top 5 worst airports to sleep with.
I heard several interviews with airport officials. Unfortunately, all they give are excuses and promises. “I invite you to go back after a month and see the difference” and all that sort of statements. If I were a tourist who experienced NAIA, coming back to experience it all over again will be like punishing myself. What they fail to do is acknowledge that there is something wrong. Our government officials travel a lot and get to compare NAIA with other airports than most of us, yet we hear little from them.
For all the supposed security in NAIA, Lozada was easily whisked off, bypassing any passport or immigration check in after arriving in a foreign based aircraft.
They should incorporate that travel tax in the ticket already. Or at leaast give them a cash register POS so that paying will be fast. They are still stuck in the dark ages of writing in carboinized receipts. Its like lining up when buying stuff in CDR King – one of life’s ironies – for all the technology being sold in those stores, you line up to get a number, another line when you choose your stuff, a line to pay and a line to get the things you bought, plus the carbonized hand written receipts – this from a store which sells hi-tech gadgetry – but this altogether another story.
good luck to you atty and good luck to us all.
May 3rd, 2011 at 10:28 pm
sorry about this:Atty Aposa, you wrote a very nice letter. Unfortunately 4 months after, nothing happened. In fact, now the NAIA is in the top 5 worst airports to sleep with. – obviously i meant to sleep in. made me smile though
July 22nd, 2011 at 6:29 am
Some of the rebuttals have points (e.g., MICKEY, NINO) as some supporters (e.g EPIC), Ttoo bad that some of the “checkpoints” are necessary evils. The Terminal Fees are fine– prerogative yan ng kung sino mang government. I support the suggestion that it be included in the purchase price of tickets, hence eliminating one necessary evil.
Also, nothing wrong with checking the baggage claim tags. e para saan pa at binigyan ka ng airline ng claim tags. Dito sa U.S. nga naman hindi na chi-ni-check.. e kasi po naman e .. hmm.. may kaunting honesty siguro yung mga tao ..
It’s true that free Internet connection is not a requirement for any airport but then you have to consider the needs of travellers. Airports, hotels, even some food establishments are graded by travel associations, including the presence of WiFi, outlet plugs, etc.
With regard to Custom declarations, just write Nothing to Declare sa form; no big deal for me :-) Sa eroplano naman binibigay na yung form e.
Now allow me to make two suggestions, but first my disclosure: I reside in the U.S. and have travelled only twice to the Philippines for the past 25 years, the last one 2 years ago. There is obviously a need to streamline the “checkpoints” but without compromising security. Assuming we can eliminate that “terminal fee checkpoint” can’t we adopt the “checkppoints” here in the U.S. ? Ganito kasi dito e (at least what I remember sa O’Hare, lax, sfo, detroit):
1. Pagdating sa airport (pagbaba ng taxi yan ), punta agad sa airline check-in counter with all your baggages and hand carry items. Dito ipakita mo passport mo so they can counter-check your name on the ticket and visa sa destination, if visa is required. All check-in items go to conveyors to the x-ray. That will be the last time you will see your baggage, so requirement dito ay huwag e-lock ang baggages. Should there be any problems later, they will page you sa PA system
2. Punta ka na sa pre-departure line. They will check passport and boarding pass. Scan lang passport and that’s it. (I am not sure kung may extra steps sa mga non-U.S. passport holders. ). Halos dereretso ang line dito, no hussle. Walang check-check ng mga papeles o kung ano pang ibang documents (problema na kasi yun ng Port of Entry sa country you are visiting; utak ng America–ipapasa yung problema sa ibang country :)
3. Kasunod ng #2 agad ay conveyors/xray machines for your hand-carry, belts, shoes etc. Lahat ng laman ng bulsa ko, even jacket go to these conveyor trays. The person goes thru the body scan.
Ayun na yun. Punta ka na sa departure gate mo where you will hand in you boarding pass sa assigned airline personnel sa time ng boarding.
Yung 2nd SUGGESTION ko.. yung issue na ito sa NAIA is a very good classroom exercise sa mga IE/OR /mgmt. eng students :-) Really, this will be a classic classroom case study. Why not sponsor a school competition – who can come up with the most efficient but most secure process at naia. Two categories- arrival and departure :-)
Nga pala, meron din akong unforgettable experience nuong una kong uwi sa Philippines. sa arrival pagkakauha ko ng luggage ko biglang may humila sa maleta ko e hawak ko naman ito. Akala ko tuloy magnanakaw , yun pala porter o basta taga duon sa airport. Nakipaghilaan ba naman ako at sabi niya tutulong daw sa pagbuhat ng aking maliit na maleta. Hindi na sabi ko, and towards the end sabi e “merry xmas po.. meron po ba?”…. Duon ako natauhan na nasa Phil na nga ako, after 13 years of absence.
August 1st, 2011 at 12:19 pm
[...] would only be a 30-second interval between checkpoints. I hope someone makes this his/her cause and write a simple letter, for the love of their country and [...]
August 2nd, 2011 at 6:26 pm
A well written letter which echoes many of my thoughts. Marciano I think you have mistaken the USA for the rest of the world. Not too worry many people living in the USA make this common mistake. Certainly in Australia we do not have anything like the security checks you mention, or fees you speak of. And I beg to differ on where you think the safest airports in the world might be, again perhaps you are not widely travelled enough but guns and bombs are not something I run into too often as I fly around some of the safest airports in the world right here in Australia.
December 28th, 2011 at 10:05 pm
[...] offer you one one tip for the future, writing would be it. Write constructive letters addressed to airport officials, government agencies, and private institutions. Write letters you’ll never send; it’s [...]
December 28th, 2011 at 11:58 pm
[...] offer you one one tip for the future, writing would be it. Write constructive letters addressed to airport officials, government agencies, and private institutions. Write letters you’ll never send; [...]
January 19th, 2012 at 9:46 am
just wanted to know which authority in manila terminal three airport i must ask because i handcarried a camera stand from manila to cebu without any hassle,and from cebu to manila flight i was ask to check it in?where can i check if this is to be check-in or handcarried?
February 29th, 2012 at 12:59 pm
I have been in so many airports in US and Asia and I experienced all travel conveniences even if you have long layover time. I travel to my homeland, the beautiful Philippines once or twice a year. I love all the places to include Smokey Mountain and even the infamous Divisoria. Ironically, the place that I hate most but I cannot do otherwise are the Philippine Airports , NAIA Terminal 2 in particular. Your experience there is horrible. I am wondering, after all the complaints, nothing has been done. I left the Philippines in 1996 and nothing has changed and even worse than before. I think they should not adopt the new DOT Slogan but instead adopt “ONLY IN THE PHILIPPINES”
October 16th, 2012 at 4:24 pm
feedback in Travel TAX. Why in International airport we have to show birth certificate and MC for our OFW dependent. If we show BC & MC they charge less than the travel tax of Php1620. They can see in passport that you have a dependent VISA from your sponsor. How stupid is this, it is very clear that you have a dependent VISA and they want to see BC and MC if they are legal? My passport have only 1 leaf blank space for stamp and also my children and wife, but they keep asking for the BC and MC. We travel a lot in GCC country specially dubai and bahrain. Why this stupid staff are asking and need to have discussion. Pera-pera na lang, you can bring any child if you pay Full Travel Tax.. Stupid procedure and staff. They must have exemption and documented, the staff must know how to deal with the OFW and they have to explain in polite manners. We need to travel in good mood.
October 16th, 2012 at 4:38 pm
sa security, grabe ang luwag nila pag me dumating na artista or foreign singer.. nakasabay ko ang Maroon 5 sa airport, pag daan ko sa body checking. ibinababa lang ng security ang kamay nya sa kin at pinapasok na nya ako at ung nasa monitor wala sa upuan, di sya nakatingin sakin at di nya ko kinapkapan. nakangiti sya at tuwang-tuwa sa nakikita. me maikukwento na naman sya sa tambayan at bida na naman sya. “only in the philippines”…