Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade assured waiting passengers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) that they will be taken care of and will be given regular food supply during their stay there.
He personally visited NAIA on Wednesday to see the actual situation of passengers at the airport, who were earlier reported in the news as sitting and even sleeping on the floor, or outside the airport, as there are limited flights and cancellations due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.
Around 2,000 pieces of monoblock chairs were delivered Thursday at NAIA for passengers to sit on and not on the floor while waiting for their flights.
Tugade said passengers with valid tickets, medical certificates, and travel authority should be allowed entry at the airport building, to make their waiting time more comfortable.
Earlier, President Duterte ordered Tugade to look at the situation of the waiting passengers at the airport and provide more chairs because there are children and pregnant women who have no place to sit on.
On Thursday, Tugade also visited the Manila North Port where waiting passengers were also reported earlier to be in the same state as the passengers at NAIA.
He directed the management of the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) to assist passengers and make them more comfortable while waiting for their scheduled departure going to the provinces.
PPA General Manager Jay Daniel Santiago immediately transferred seven families travelling with children and three senior citizens inside an airconditioned facility.
They also distributed some 200 folding beds and placed additional electric fans for the stranded passengers.
As of Thursday, there are about 203 locally stranded individuals (LSI’s) staying at the Manila North Port, waiting for their departure to Cebu, Bacolod, Butuan, Iloilo, Palawan, and Dumaguete on July 12 via commercial vessels.
The Manila North Port Management as well as that of the MIAA reminds passengers not to come to the port or to NAIA if they do not have tickets yet. (PNA)
