Airport chief Jose Angel Honrado on NAIA woes: It’s all media’s fault

He went down swinging, as they say.

On Mon, Jun 27, during his last flag-raising ceremony as Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) general manager Jose Angel Honrado made a rather controversial statement about his experience with running the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

“Honrado essentially blamed the media for magnifying a number of incidents at his agency — leaking roofs, sink holes, collapsing ceilings, power outages and tanim-bala (bullet-planting) — for lack of anything ‘big’ to write about,” reports Jeannette I. Andrade in Philippine Daily Inquirer.

First of all, Honrado said his troubles began in 2011 when NAIA was named as the  world’s worst airport in an international travel website. He remarked, “And media started branding us, hounding us day in and day out.”

Honrado then pointed out that his office was “devastated by the tanim-bala incidents in 2015 after they were blamed for failure to resolve the problem even if it was not directly involved in the airport security screening process.”

As for the five-hour power outage that hit NAIA Terminal 3 earlier this year, Honrado said it was a “blessing in disguise.” He explained: “We became more aware of the importance of maintenance.”

READ: Power outage cripples Manila airport, thousands stranded

Honrado added: “The succeeding months proved to be nonsignificant but not to the media. The broken glass panels, a 2×2 meter slab falling, the low water pressure and the wrong spelling of the signages were highlighted for lack of something big.”

Despite all the issues, Honrado believes he is not to blame. “I did my job as my conscience and competence allowed me to do it,” he quipped.



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