Saturday, July 21, 2007 Pinoy workers abroad back open skies
CLARK FREEPORT -- A group of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) asked President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to sign and implement Executive Order (EO) 500B for the development of the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) and other regional airports.
Arnel de Guzman, spokesperson of the newly formed Air Access Alliance (3A)-OFW Sector, disclosed that the opening of DMIA had reduced "the social costs of labor migration."
De Guzman said tourism became vibrant in Central Luzon contrary to the statement of the Fair Trade Alliance (FTA) that the flow of tourists was outbound because of the move.
Taking issues with former senator and FTA convenor Wigberto Tañada, de Guzman said the entry of foreign carriers like Tiger Airways and Air Asia has created a boom in local tourism.
De Guzman said that "it is no exaggeration to claim that tourism in Central Luzon has gone up, the hotel occupancy is almost to the full capacity and related services and business have perked up."
In 2006, DMIA posted over 480,000 local and foreign passengers and the number is expected to increase for this year.
Studies by the Department of Tourism (DOT) disclosed that each tourist creates one job.
The average spending of US$1,200 creates at least one job not just in tourism, but also in other industries and services like agriculture, retail, manufacturing and others.
The OFW Alliance also argued that "restrictive and outdated air services agreements and more than half a century protection of Philippine Airlines failed to create these opportunities."
The Alliance also pointed out that families of OFWs traveling to Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Macau should not be grudged if they could now do so because of cheaper airfares.
"The Filipino workers abroad have worked hard for their families to travel and visit them. This eases the pains of separation and loneliness," said de Guzman.
Foreign carriers "rent" the traffic rights of Philippine carriers for a fee and these costs are simply added to the cost of the ticket. Filipino travelers pay extra for their tickets and this goes directly to the coffers of these Philippine carriers, according to the Alliance.
The Alliance is taking up the challenge of Tañada for a discussion as they believe that the former lawmaker is misinformed about certain issues concerning the open skies policies and that they can still find common grounds on the matter of bilateral agreements and progressive liberalization policy and other policy reforms related to air access that will benefit OFWs. (RGN)
