President Aquino welcomes biggest commercial
airplane at NAIA
President Benigno S. Aquino III welcomed the
arrival of the world’s biggest passenger airline as it landed at the Ninoy
Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 in Pasay City on Tuesday night.
Emirates Airbus A380 Flight EK 334 touched down at
the NAIA runway at 10:10 p.m. after flying non-stop from the Dubai
International Airport since 9:20 a.m. (Manila time).
After taxiing at the runway, the Airbus was given
a water cannon salute.
The Airbus A380 is a double-deck, wide-body,
four-engine jet airliner. It has a seating capacity of 525 people in a typical
three-class configuration or up to 853 people in an all-economy class
configuration.
Flight EK 334 was piloted by Captain Franklyn Desiderio,
the first Filipino to fly the Airbus A380.
The President, together with Emirates' Divisional
Senior Vice President Barry Brown, met and greeted Desiderio and the more than
300 passengers of Flight EK334 as they passed through the NAIA immigration
area.
In a written statement, Brown said, "Bringing
our flagship A380 to Manila is a fantastic way to celebrate our move to the new
international terminal and also our commitment to the Philippines."
During the event, the President was accompanied by
Transportation and Communications Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya, Manila
International Airport Authority (MIAA) General Manager Jose Angel Honrado, Ret.
Lt. Gen. William Hotchskiss III, and NAIA Terminal 3 Manager Octovio Lina. PND
(ag)
President Aquino inspects NAIA Terminal 3
President Benigno S. Aquino III on Tuesday night
conducted an inspection of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA)
Terminal 3 in Pasay City.
The President arrived at NAIA Terminal 3 at 9:50
p.m. and was welcomed by Transportation and Communications Secretary Joseph
Emilio Abaya, Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) General Manager
Jose Angel Honrado, and Emirates Divisional Senior Vice President Barry Brown.
Upon his arrival, he proceeded to the travelers'
lounge, where he was briefed by Secretary Abaya and Honrado on the status of
the terminal transfer of five foreign airlines from NAIA Terminal 1 to Terminal
3.
The Emirates, Delta Airlines, KLM Royal Dutch
Airlines, Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific have moved their operations
from Terminal 1 to Terminal 3.
From the lounge, he witnessed the water cannon
salute given to the Emirates Airbus A380, the world’s biggest passenger
airline, as it touched down at the NAIA runway at 10:10 p.m. on Tuesday.
After the ceremony, the President proceeded to the
immigration area to greet the passengers of Emirates Airbus 380 Flight EK 335,
as well as passengers bound for Dubai, the United Arab Emirates who were
scheduled to depart at 1:45 a.m. on Wednesday (October 8).
He also inspected the conveyor at the lower level
of NAIA Terminal 3.
During the inspection, he was accompanied by
Cabinet Secretary Jose Rene Almendras, Civil Aviation Authority of the
Philippines Director General Ret. Lt. Gen. William Hotchkiss III, and NAIA
Terminal 3 Manager Octavio Lina.
President Aquino concluded his inspection past 11
p.m. PND (ag)
Palace wants fair public benefits in raising MRT, LRT fares, Spokesman says
The government is balancing everyone's interest in
considering a raise in the fares of the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) and the Light
Rail Transit (LRT) before the end of the year, a Palace official said
Wednesday.
The Palace will wait for the decision of
transportation officials on when to adjust the MRT and LRT fares, Presidential
Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said during a press briefing in Malacañang.
It has been reported that the Department of
Transportation and Communications (DOTC) plans to raise train fares before
Christmas.
The plan, proposed four years ago, is being
opposed by some groups, who say that the current fare must be retained, given
the substandard services of the railway transport systems.
Secretary Lacierda said that the DOTC has long
considered adjusting the rates of the MRT and LRT, noting that President Aquino
even mentioned it in his previous public pronouncements.
"Remember the statement of the President
dati, na the taxes are being used to subsidize only a portion, taxes collected
all over the country, we used a part of that to subsidize the MRT
ridership," he said.
"So, you’ve got taxes collected from Cebu,
Visayas, Mindanao or from the balance of Luzon who don’t enjoy that," he
explained.
Lacierda said the government recognizes the need
to realign everything so that the taxes collected should equally go back to the
people through subsidies that support poverty alleviation, intervention or
other social programs.
"We are balancing the interest. We are
balancing the use of the money collected from our countrymen and we believe
that the taxes collected should be applied equitably to all our
countrymen," he said.
Once the fare rate is adjusted, a one-way ride on
LRT-1 from Baclaran to Roosevelt will cost P29, while a one-way trip on LRT-2
from Santolan to Recto will be P24, a media report said.
A trip on MRT-3 between North Avenue and Taft
Avenue will cost P28.
Currently, a ride on the MRT ranges from P10 to
P15, while a ride on LRT-1 and LRT-2 costs from P12 to P15 and P20,
respectively.
With the fare adjustment, the government aims to
reduce its subsidy for the mass transport systems to P10 billion from P12 billion.
PND (as)
Palace asks for more patience as it addresses
Metro flooding, traffic congestion
Malacañang has asked for more patience from the
public as it continues to address concerns on flooding and traffic congestions
in Metro Manila.
Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said
Wednesday that amid criticisms, the government is not sitting idly in searching
for solutions to these problems.
However, fixing these problems could not be done
overnight, Secretary Lacierda said, adding that the good thing is that the
government is working and it is determined to address these concerns.
"The government is addressing all these
problems, the government is doing a number of road improvement projects
designed also to alleviate flooding in the long term," he said during the
daily press briefing.
He noted that the government is carrying out
projects to put bigger culverts and other road improvements in the city.
"It does not come immediately because it will
take some time to really improve all these systems, but we are there now,"
he said.
"Again, as in any infrastructure project, it
will take some time to finish it but once we finish all these, it will better
our system, our waterways. It will minimize the flooding in the areas
concerned."
The government is implementing these
infrastructure projects to minimize the inconveniences of floods and heavy
traffic to the public in the future, he said. PND (as)
Malacañang has no plan to create an anti-graft
body, official says
Amid calls for a lifestyle check on several
ranking officials, the government sees no need to create a new Presidential
Anti-Graft Commission, a Palace official said on Wednesday.
"I think our Office of the Ombudsman has
shown to be independent. So, their mandate is to conduct all these measures
necessary to ensure good governance and ethical practice among public
officials," Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said during a press
briefing in Malacañang.
"They are performing their duties very well,
so, we will leave it at that; and plus the fact that it is better for an
independent body to conduct this lifestyle check, so as not to accuse anyone of
favoritism or protection," said Lacierda.
President Benigno S. Aquino III abolished the
Presidential Anti-Graft Commission (PAGC) through Executive Order No. 13 signed
in November 2010.
There have been calls for Vice President Jejomar
Binay and Philippine National Police Chief General Alan Purisima to undergo a
lifestyle check following probes into their alleged questionable wealth. PND
(ag)
