NEWLY-INSTALLED Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) Cesar Chiong practically introduced himself formally to the employees present in the first flag raising ceremony he attended Monday.
GM Chiong said he knows that all of those who are there are curious to find out who he is, what his message to them would be and what they can expect from his administration for the next six years.
Chiong, who is 52 years old and has two children, aged 13 and 10, said that when he saw the pictures of the past GMs along the corridor leading to his office, he noticed that he was the youngest to hold the post of MIAA manager.
Just the same, he was quick to correct the possible impression that since he is relatively young, he lacks the needed or sufficient experience or has a limited capacity.
According to Chiong, he brings with him 33 years of aviation experience. He said that he began working early in life, as he was employed with Philippine Airlines at the age of 19, starting out as as a management trainee.
Chiong prided himself with having undergone training at PAL where he and his colleagues were required to train in all aspects of airline operations.
The new airport GM initially worked at the airline’s reservations, ticketing, check-in and cargo before becoming a loader controller, aircraft martial, ramp agent and check-in clerk.
He also worked at the maintenance as part of his training and then became cabin crew.
Mind you, Chiong said he also used to slice tomatoes at the in-flight center as part of his catering experience and drew a rich experience at the airport.
“’Yung alam kong Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 noon, ‘yun ho ‘yung domestic terminal natin. So, I am not sure if some of you remember, ang boarding passes po noon nakalagay sa likod ng wall tapos meron hong papel and then when you check-in, as a check-in agent, the most important tool we that have is a ballpen and a stapler kasi yung check-in and boarding pass po noon ini-staple po doon sa papel na ticket,” he reminisced.
Today, he notes how swift changes come, citing how the manner of checking in has adapted with technology and along this line, he expressed readiness for always keeping with the times.
After finishing his management program, Chiong said he was assigned to Finance and it was there that he met now Secretary Jaime Bautista of the Department of Transportation who was then the Chief Financial Officer and with whom he worked for 15 years.
Chiong said his job with Finance involved taking care of the lease and purchase of aircrafts for PAL.
‘Yung mga nakita ninyong eroplano ng PAL noon from 1993 to about 2012, ako po ang bumili ‘non, kami po ang nagde-deliver ng mga eroplanong ‘yon. After my STID of finance, I was also assigned as a Chief Executive Office of the Air Philippines Corporation, kami po iyong nag-handle ng branding na PAL Express, which is until now still being used by PAL,” Chiong told the employes. So, there!
Let us hope that Chiong succeeds because in his hands lies the future of our premier airports that would create the country’s image in the eyes of the world.
Speaking of PAL, its spokesperson Ma. Cielo Villaluna expressed the airline’s sincere apologies to its passengers who, upon their arrival at NAIA Terminal 2 on August 1, 2022, were affected by the delay in the release of their check-in baggage.
“We acknowledge the inconvenience caused by this delay and we assure our passengers that improving their travel experience is our top priority,” PAL said in a statement sent to the media by PAL spokesperson Ma. Cielo Villaluna.
“Nonetheless, we are assuring our customers that we are closely working with our service partners to achieve an expeditious and sustainable solution and prevent a recurrence of this unacceptable situation,” she said.
It is just so unfortunate that the labor shortage being experienced by PAL third-party service providers, an issue that is currently occurring at airports and affecting airlines globally, resulted in lack of station loaders and baggage personnel at the airport.
And by the way, congratulations to the new set of officers of the Airport Press Club (APC), the oldest media organization in the airport beat.
Composed of the vast majority of the tri-media members covering the NAIA, the APC elected its new set of officers via viva voce.
Before this, the group held a meeting after merging what used to be separate press organizations in the airport beat. Thus, the APC is now the umbrella organization representing nearly all the media members who are covering the NAIA and all other agencies operating in the premier airport.
Elected president was Ariel Fernandez, who also used to head the Pasay City Press Corps. Elected along with him were yours truly as vice president; Cristina Arayata, secretary; Froilan Morallos, treasurer and Butch Quejada, membership screening committee chairman.
The rest of the group are APC directors, namely: Rudy Santos, Joel Zurbano, Anthony Ching, Benjie Vergara, Jerry Tan, Bing Jabadan, Nonie Reyes, Jojo Sadiwa, Jun Simon, Otto Osorio, Jimmy Cheng, Tony Gildo, Joyce Adra, Cherry Ilaw and Sam Nielsen.
Once again, congratulations to the APC!!!
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