‘Move 50% of flights from NAIA to Clark by ‘25’ By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie
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HE minor it y leader of the House of Representatives on Sunday said 50 percent of all f lights in and out of t he congested Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAI A) should be transferred to Clark International Airport (CI A) by 2025. Minority Leader Marcelino Libanan, in a statement, said the projected full recovery of global air travel from the Covid-19 pandemic is 2025. “Assuming all flights are divided evenly between NAIA and Clark by 2025, only half of all flights
would be cancelled, diverted or delayed in the event of a sudden emergency in either gateway,” Libanan said. “For instance, if NAIA has another air traffic system glitch, or if a large aircraft suddenly has a runway excursion there, only 50 percent of all flights would be disrupted once the other 50 percent is already operating out of Clark,” Libanan said. The lawmaker said Clark is capable of operating more flights, offers good connectivity to Metro Manila via modern expressways, and is only 90 kilometers away from Quezon City. “We have no choice but to fully harness Clark, which has been up
and running for years,” Libanan said. Last week, civil aviation officials told the House transportation committee that NAIA’s air traffic system is now fully functional, but that the country’s busiest airport still has no back up in case the system breaks down again as it did on New Year’s Day. “If we do not take full advantage of Clark as alternate gateway, there will be chaos at NAIA once global air travel explodes,” Libanan warned. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) sees international traveler numbers reaching 82 percent of pre-pandemic level this year, 92 percent in 2024
and 101 percent in 2025.
Alternate gateway
LIBANAN said the government, through the state-run Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), had invested P10 billion to fully develop Clark as an alternate gateway “precisely to alleviate congestion at NAIA and accommodate growing passenger traffic.” “In fact, on top of the BCDA’s investment, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) also spent billions of pesos to modernize Clark,” Libanan said. Libanan said the DOTr’s plan to privatize NAIA “won’t solve the airport’s congestion.” See “Move,” A2
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Monday, January 23, 2023
Vol. 18 No. 100
P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 18 pages |
BE NO RECESSION IN PHL’ By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz
‘China Plus 1’ policy among Euro firms to benefit PHL’
@joveemarie
& Samuel P. Medenilla
A
@sam_medenilla
N economistlawmaker on Sunday seconded President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s statement in the World Economic Forum that the Philippine growth outlook remains bright despite global recession fears, with the House tax panel chairman asserting that, “absolutely there will be no recession for the Philippines in 2023.” Returning to Manila at the weekend from the 2023 World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. said the country has improved its international reputation as an investment destination. During the business forum, Marcos said the country showed itself as an attractive location for multinational firms and is now tagged as one of the best-performing economies in Southeast Asia. “It is good we were able to go here since it allowed us to be included in the so-called VIP club.... This includes Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines. These are what they considered the most promising economies in Asia,” Marcos said in Filipino during an interview. While in Davos, Marcos and the Philippine delegates, which accompanied him, were able to secure investment pledges in mining and processing, digital solutions, logistics, telecommunications, and renewable fuel.
By Andrea E. San Juan
P
CNY ENTERTAINMENT Street performers entertain Chinese New Year revelers in Manila’s Chinatown in Binondo, considered the world's first and oldest Chinatown. The Year of the Water Rabbit is predicted to be a year of hope, as the sign of the Rabbit in Chinese culture symbolizes longevity, peace and prosperity. NONIE REYES
ENVOYS WOOING ‘VIPS’ TO COME HOME, TOUR ISLANDS By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo
@akosistellaBM Special to the BusinessMirror
T
HE Philippines is relaunching a foreign visitor program in cooperation with Philippine diplomats in the United States and Hawaii. Rajah Tours Philippines President Jose C. Clemente III told the
See “Recession,” A2
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 54.6880
BusinessMirror, after a twoyear hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the former Ambassadors and Consuls General Tour has been relaunched as the Very Important Pinoy (VIP) Tour, and will be held from July 16 to 24 this year. “Now that the Philippines has fully reopened to international travelers, we hope to attract at
least 300 Filipinos residing in the United States and their family members and friends to visit the country. Or, if they have visited before, explore our other unique and exciting destinations,” he said. With the theme, “See, Taste, and Feel,” the VIP Tour offers balikbayans (homecoming Filipinos) not just a trip around Manila,
but to Iloilo and Boracay Island as well. The tour will also feature a visit to Malacañang, and a possible audience with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.
6K participants since 2005
THE annual tours have been a project by Rajah Tours for the Department of Foreign Affairs, See “Envoys,” A2
HILIPPINE companies stand to gain from European companies that are adopting the ‘China Plus-one policy’, as they look to diversify their resources, according to the German-Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GPCCI). “We see a lot of efforts with the China plus-one policy here with the geostrategic way of going forward and we do see a lot of chances here for the Philippine companies to have a boost also from companies from Europe, not only from Germany, looking a bit over the edge of China to invest in the future and we are here to help,” Christopher Zimmer, Executive Director of GPCCI, told reporters on the sidelines of the Philippine Outlook 2023 on Thursday. Zimmer divulged that while he cannot reveal figures and the names of German firms willing to invest or expand in the Philippines, he said the German companies are “selecting now other investment places outside China.” As to the Philippine sectors that German companies plan to invest in, Zimmer said, “Energy for sure because this is one of the strongholds of the German economy.” Still, the GPCCI official said other sectors that the companies are looking at are: business process outsourcing (BPO), medical companies, and manufacturing, although he said that German companies are on a “high competition” with European firms in terms of manufacturing. See “China,” A2
n JAPAN 0.4259 n UK 67.7639 n HK 6.9845 n CHINA 8.0735 n SINGAPORE 41.3802 n AUSTRALIA 37.7839 n EU 59.2326 n KOREA 0.0444 n SAUDI ARABIA 14.5602
Source: BSP (January 20, 2023)