An official of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines-Davao (CAAP-Davao) reminded the public of the welcome and send-off ban at the Davao International Airport (DIA).
This is after a post on the “Laking Davao” page with photos where individuals can be seen waiting for some friends or family outside DIA went viral.
The post has a caption saying that the DIA does not allow those without private vehicles to enter and yet can’t even provide chairs for those who are waiting for their families.
Rex Obcena, manager CAAP-Davao, reiterated the permanent ban on welcome and send-off groups in the city’s airports, seaports, and bus terminals as announced by former Mayor Sara Duterte on February 10, 2020, and took effect on February 11, 2020.
“Una sa tanan dili ni siya bag-o na policy and as far as DIA is concerned and in all transportation hub sa Davao City in fact kani na policy was implemented in 2020, Nagpagawas ang city government of Davao ug policy guideline sa tanan transportation hub sa Davao City including airport, seaports, bus terminals but more particular sa airport kay if you notice wala tay facility to shelter atong large crowd of people and at the same time medyo limited ang atong land site pag naa tay overcrowding dinha sa sulod ma hamper ang mobility sa atong mga pasahero and at the same time katong mag sakyanan na gahatod sa ilaha but with that policy in placed since 2020 gahatag ta ug gamay na consideration ug ga allow ta one to two maximum of two nga magsundo or maghatod sa sakyanan man o walk in kay para wala sila’y masulti nga ga-discriminate ta,” Obcena said over Davao City Disaster Radio (DCDR) on Thursday.
Obcena appealed for a little patience and understanding from the public as they are bound to implement the policy of the city to ensure and maintain security inside the airport.
He said they prioritized those passengers who are elderly, PWDs, pregnant women, and persons that need special care by providing them with a small place to rest.
“Unfortunately, kaning naandan nato sa mga kababayan daghan gyud ang maghatod pa so necessarily naa gyud mabilin sa gawas. Overall wala ta’y facility to cater large crowd and we cannot jeopardize kay ang primordial concern nato is the maintenance of the security inside the airport. Balikon namo gina- discourage namo ang maghatod ug pirting daghana ug magsundo na halos isa ka baryohan. Gina discourage gyud nato na,” he said.
Obcena said they are now looking at the possibility of providing shelter for those who cannot enter the airport in coordination with the City Engineers Office (CEO) upon the instruction of Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte to avoid an overcrowding inside the airport.
“Ginatan-aw nato karon ang posisibility nga makahatg ta ug facility diha sa gawas. Ginatan-aw nato na karon but we have yet to meet again with the technical staff of the city,” he said.
He also mentioned the proposal of putting up a public terminal through the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) at the DIA.
“Ang Davao airport is one of the airports sa Pilipinas in the pipeline for possible PPP which intends to put up a public terminal parehas sa Terminal 3 sa Manila and if that pushes through that would be a big development sa atoang airport facility but right now ang among project na ongoing and impending implementation is that expansion that caters more sa needs sa atong mga pasahero,” he said.
It can be recalled that Dabawenyo business tycoon Dennis Uy’s Chelsea Logistics and Infrastructure Holdings Corporation was eyeing to modernize DIA.
Chelsea Logistics has submitted an unsolicited proposal for the multi-billion DIA development project and was granted the original proponent status for the airport modernization project in May 2018.
The proposal was reported to have undergone several repetitions between and among NEDA, DoTr, CAAP, and the proponent.
