Palafox bares NAIA 'aerotropolis' masterplan

abs-cbnNEWS.com

Posted at 10/21/2011 11:17 PM | Updated as of 10/21/2011 11:30 PM

MANILA, Philippines – A prominent architect has expressed disappointment at the criticism that Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) has been getting, especially since a master plan to rehabilitate Terminal 1 of the airport was already commissioned as early as 2004.

Architect Jun Palafox, SGV, and a Japanese consultancy firm worked on the plan for a year during the Arroyo administration.

Palafox said the plan would have extended the terminal's life until 2025.

Under the proposed plan, Palafox said Terminal 1 will be linked to terminals 2 and 3.

“You can walk from one terminal to the other with people-movers, walkalators, escalators and so on. And also maybe a small monorail or something,” he said.

The connection from the terminal to the aircraft will also be seamless, according to Palafox. “’Yung air side, i-improve siya para seamless. ‘Yung connection ng aircraft, derecho ka sa terminal. Tapos there will be more amenities.”

Palafox's plan also included an expansion to accommodate more planes and connections that would have allowed passengers to move between terminals without having to pass through the usually congested roads around them.

Palafox said the idea was to build a controlled and convenient “aerotropolis.”

“Parang one family of buildings, hindi ‘yung chop suey. Isang loop, then interconnected. ‘Yung 25% na land side, we can put airport hotel, restaurants, sleeping quarters, shopping and dining, and other airport-related facilities. That’s the concept of aerotropolis,” he explained.

Palafox said if the plan was implemented, there'd be a refurbished Terminal 1 by now.
He said that his group was already paid more than half for the shelved project, and it seemed that the government knows nothing of it.

“We were paid maybe 70-80%. ‘Yung final payment lang ang hindi binigay. Nagbago-bago ang management ng MIA, mukhang walang continuity at hindi na nila tinuloy ‘yung plano,” said Palafox.

“It’s so frustrating na ganoon ang nangyari,” he added.

NAIA General Manager Jose Hondrado, who felt that NAIA’s “world’s worst airport” tag was unfair, expressed interest in seeing and studying the plan and know if it can still be used.
 
NAIA Terminal 1 was ranked the world’s worst airport due to poor facilities, bribery and security concerns, according to interactive website The Guide to Sleeping in Airports.

The airport was ranked the 5th worst airport in the world and the worst in Asia last year. -- Report from ANC Business Nightly

http://bit.ly/o6NJei 

Winnie Monsod is as good as her word

By: Nestor U. Torre
Philippine Daily Inquirer
October 21, 2011 | 7:48 pm

MONSOD. Education, experience, intelligence,
perspicacity and sensitivity. CARICATURE BY STEPH
BRAVO

At a recent forum, we were asked to talk about how TV can be used to build trust in a huge organization, especially during times of disaster and crisis.

What, officers of the company wanted to know, were some of the “trustworthy” qualities in a company officer or spokesperson that would encourage viewers to believe in him and what he said, and to feel confident that something substantial and decisive was being done to expeditiously and yet also sensitively alleviate the crisis? To help clarify the point, could we name specific people who appeared on TV to serve as touchstones or sterling examples in this regard?

Example

Instantly, we came up with our first example: Winnie Monsod. Some people were surprised. Why Winnie, first and foremost? Our explanation: In a crisis situation that can adversely affect the populace, viewers want to be assured that the right response would quickly and yet sensitively be made. To save lives, minimize damage to property and start the process of physical and psychological healing.

For that to happen, “official” statements must not come off as officious, and viewers would implicitly trust the bearer of the message.

Given that objective, somebody like Winnie would fill the bill admirably, because for many years now, in both her private and public actuations, she has been as good as her word.

Not once have we heard her say something she doesn’t believe in—and she says it in the clearest and most no-nonsense of ways.

In addition, she has the education, experience, intelligence, perspicacity and sensitivity for the task at hand. Having filled a number of top positions in government and the academe, Winnie knows exactly what to say and do, and her track record further encourages implicit trust, even from people who know her only from her TV appearances.

Finally, she has mastered her areas of expertise so well that she can break down complex processes and matrixes of information and action, and make them understandable and pertinent to “mere” laymen and their lives and needs.

Traits

Anyone who appears on TV should work hard to also develop those traits in himself. —To top it all off, some of Winnie’s innate courage and readiness to step on some calloused official toes would also come in handy!

To be sure, Winnie Monsod isn’t the only implicitly trustworthy person who regularly or occasionally appears on TV. We can also cite Pia Hontiveros, Behn Cervantes, Mitch Valdes, Lorna Kapunan, Cheche Lazaro, Jaime Laya and a few more.

It’s sad to note, however, that most “professional” people who appear on TV for a living don’t have or have lost the implicit trustworthiness that viewers expect. Quite a number have gotten bored with their work and success, forgetting that it’s a great privilege and responsibility to inform and entertain so many people. They don’t do the research required and simply “wing it” during interviews, because they have an exaggerated and undeserved confidence in their “competence.”

To make things worse, some TV people feel that they’re big and beautiful stars—fashion icons, even—and behave accordingly. Finally, some of them have compromised their objectivity and can now be co-opted.

Why do they think they’re getting away with it? Because some viewers can’t see through their cleverly concocted image and believe in it—and they garner praises, despite their smooth and suave duplicity.

To these and other blithe offenders guilty of so many sins of commission and omission in the lofty name of public service, may the likes of Winnie Monsod show that there is a better way!

http://entertainment.inquirer.net/18111/winnie-monsod-is-as-good-as-her-word

PHL’s minimum-wage level fuels ‘brain drain,’ says NWPC’s Lagunzad

Thursday, 29 September 2011 20:34
Cai U. Ordinario / Reporter 

WHILE minimum wage helps protect low-skilled workers from abusive employers, it leaves most of the country’s technical personnel or skilled workers vulnerable to seeking better opportunities abroad, according to the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC).

At the Communication and News Exchange Forum on Thursday, NWPC Executive Director Ciriaco Lagunzad III said having high minimum wage is one of the explanations to the “missing middle” pertaining to the technical and skilled personnel. 

Lagunzad said currently, minimum wage is already more than 90 percent of the average wage in the country despite the recommended level by the International Labor Organization which is only 70 percent.    

 

“Ngayon halos 90 plus of the average wage is minimum wage. There are times [it)] will exceed your average and that’s very bad [because] it disrupts the whole economy, it doesn’t value skilled workers, [and] it will crowd out collective bargaining. Kaya wala nang unyon kasi umaasa na lahat sa minimum wage eh,” Lagunzad told reporters. 

“Ayaw na ng mga workers ng increase kasi ’pag tumaas magbabayad [sila] ng [mataas] tax....Eh di mas mabuti nang minimum na walang tax kesa increasan mo mas malaki yung tax, ’yung take home pay maliit. These policies tend to distort labor markets,” he added. 

Based on the Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics, the country’s average monthly wage was at P13,565 in 2010. This means, using a six-day work week, an average worker earns P521.73 per day. 

However, data from the NWPC, if this is going to be applied in a region like the National Capital Region where the current minimum wage is P426 per day or an average monthly salary of P11,076, using a six-day work week. 

Lagunzad explained that under this system, many skilled workers are forced to go abroad as overseas Filipino workers because their salaries are very low and with minimum-wage earners not being taxed, low-skilled workers often have bigger take home pays than skilled workers. 

“Kinakailangan lang idisiplina ’yung pag-set ng minimum wage. [Dapat] hindi masyadong mataas kasi kung mataas, bukod sa hindi ma-afford ng business, ’yung mga collective bargaining [agreements] maaring mahirapan kasi mas malaki pa ’yung binibigay ng wage board kesa sa collective-bargaining  agreement. Tapos, ’yung [skilled]...hindi na binibigyan ng halaga.... kasi binibigay naman ng minimum wage ’yung kanilang pangangailangan,”
Lagunzad explained. 

Earlier, the World Economic Forum (WEF) warned that the Philippines is among the developing countries that may experience the highest need for professionals by 2020 and beyond. 

The report titled Global Talent Risk–Seven Responses, done by WEF in collaboration with the Boston Consulting Group, project that there will be talent shortages in 25 countries, 13 industries and nine occupational clusters by 2020 and 2030. 

Talent shortages will be greatest among educated professionals, technicians and managers. Professionals will also be most in demand in trade, transport and communications industries in developing nations. 

The 13 industries where these shortages will occur by 2020 and beyond are mining, manufacturing, utilities, construction, trade, hotels, transportation and communication, financial intermediation, information technology and business services, public administration and defense, education, health care, and other services. 

Among developing countries like the Philippines and Malaysia, the highest demand will be for senior managers in mining and utilities; professionals in mining, manufacturing, utilities, trade, and transportation and communication; technicians and associated professionals in mining, trade, hotels, and transportation and communication; clerks in mining and trade; and service workers in manufacturing.

http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/home/economy/17222-phls-minimum-wage-level-fuels-brain-drain-says-nwpcs-lagunzad