Monday, May 19, 2008 Mongaya: Still ride Cebu Pacific? By Anol Mongaya Panahom
SEVERAL people approached to share with me stories on how Cebu Pacific unfairly treated them after I wrote about my personal experience early last March. I am glad several other victims that include even local officials and fellow journalists are now speaking out about their own sad experiences. These reinforced my claim that what happened was not an isolated incident.
To recall, I arrived at the check-in counter at the Manila Domestic Airport a few minutes before the 45 minute cut-off at one in the afternoon last March 7.
However, there was no check-in for the Cebu flight. When I went to the express counter, two passengers of the flight were already arguing with the clerk why they were bumped off. When it was my turn after waiting for 10 minutes, the clerk just told me I was late for the 1 p.m. cut-off. I later learned that the flight was overbooked and they accommodated the passengers who paid the regular rate.
Based on the published responses of Cebu Pacific officials to the more recent complaints, I now believe that we were victims of an airline that is callously after profit at the expense of the riding public.
Look at how heartless (and stupid) Cebu Pacific corporate communications manager RG Orense dismissed published complaints. This airline official said they “cannot respond to complaints based on speculations” and complaints must be “specific and the person complaining must be identified.”
I wrote about my own specific experience in my own column on March 10 after failing to get through their check-in clerks when they bumped me off from a flight and was stranded in Manila overnight. That particular Friday, I asked a public relations man of a top government official to get me in touch with the Cebu Pacific corporate communications people. The airline officials contacted first promised to look into the complaint but their cell phones won’t answer after the first call.
Recently, fellow journalists and several others like PR man Jonji Gonzales were identified when they were quoted about their own experiences in news stories.
Is RG Orense saying our individual experiences with Cebu Pacific are mere speculations? Can’t RG Orense even identify me writing about a specific incident in my own column? As a corporate communications manager, RG Orense surprisingly lacks the ability to distinguish a complaint from speculation. Or was she merely covering up?
Because of these unfortunate experiences, I now tell my friends who travel: “Sakay pa mog Cebu Pacific?”
***
If businessman Crisologo Saavedra is right, there is another airport official who lacks the necessary educational requirement for his position. Before, we had airport managers who did not have the needed civil service papers. Maybe, the politicians in the airport board should now do away with politics and appoint professionals to run the airport.
***
Arman Perez of Bayan Muna Cebu chapter thought as incomplete the list incorporated in a report the Presidential Anti-Smuggling Group (PASG) submitted to the congressional inquiry on car smuggling in Cebu. He noted the lack of names of people Bayan Muna had identified as involved in the smuggling syndicate.
In fairness though, I gathered that the PASG based its list on the certificates of payment for smuggled luxury vehicles they apprehended. I would like to advise them though to be careful in listing down the designations because it displays ineptness and sloppy work.
***
During the last congressional inquiry hearing, PASG Chief Antonio Villar again refused to name alleged big-time smugglers.
While some congressmen prefer the naming game, I think the more prudent way would be to keep silent on the order of battle and reveal the names only when the government is ready to file cases.
Yes, the Villar list of big smugglers may be privileged communication. But I’m sure the six or so suspects will not hesitate to file charges against anybody who will drag their name into the controversy.
***
Mayor Tomas Osmeña was wrong when he accused Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) president Winston Garcia of cutting off the pension of government retirees. “We cannot do that,” said a GSIS insider in her text message last night.
Besides, my mother who is a government retiree still receives her pension every month. Well, there were initial bugs to her card early last year but this was easily ironed out.
According to my GSIS insider, as long as the new computerized system of GSIS still has bugs, the complaints will continue. But the agency simply cannot stop what it is mandated to do.
(Check out my blog “In Between Columns” at anol.blogs. friendster.com/anols_blog/)
