Tacloban Airport arrival
After landing at Tacloban Airport during one trip last April, I took a few photos as our plane was taxiing towards the airport terminal. Following are those photos with annotations/comments.
A view of the runway as our plane turned to taxi towards the airport passenger terminal. The terminal is somewhat visible in the photo. The control tower can be seen just to the right of the Cebu Pacific plane that arrived ahead of us.
Philippine Air Force buildings at the Tacloban Airport – you tend to wonder how we can defend our country when there are no aircraft at an air force base facing the Pacific Ocean. I remembered seeing impressive planes and helicopters of the Japanese Self Defense Forces and US Marines lined up along the tarmac at Okinawa.
Fire trucks and other emergency vehicles are always ready (SOP) for whatever incident may happen during aircraft take-offs and landings. You just wonder if they have sufficient skill and equipment to handle the more serious cases.
Air traffic control tower at Tacloban Airport
The Daniel Z. Romualdez Airport terminal building
From the looks of it, the terminal has seen better days and badly needs repairs/renovations.
Passengers file towards the arrival area to await their baggage before exiting the terminal to proceed to their respective destinations. Many passengers may not necessarily be heading to Tacloban or other towns in Leyte but will cross over to Samar, which is physically connected to Leyte via the San Juanico Bridge. Tacloban has more regular flights in the region and is the best bet for people opting for flexibility in their travel schedules.
Baggage claim is similar to other old airports around the country. With passenger arrivals well above 1 million per year, Tacloban, which is the principal airport in Region VIII (Eastern Visayas), needs an upgrade.
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Traffic congestion along Buendia (Gil Puyat Ave.)
The Makati CBD generates a very high number of trips owing to it being arguably the largest CBD in Metro Manila in terms of offices and workers. There are several other CBDs like Manila, Ortigas, Cubao, Eastwood, Filinvest City, and Bonifacio but they generate less traffic compared to Makati. There are several major roads in the area including four intersecting roads that practically define the CBD. These are Ayala Avenue, Gil Puyat Avenue (formerly but still popularly known as Buendia Avenue), Makati Avenue and Paseo de Roxas. Both Gil Puyat and Ayala Avenue are lined with offices along either side and are often congested due to the vehicle traffic generated by the CBD. Following are a few photos of Buendia Ave.
Traffic congestion along Gil Puyat Ave. as seen from the overpass from Kalayaan Ave. Even the sidewalk on the right side of the road is filled with pedestrians.
One can see many people walking along the narrow sidewalk along Buendia. Some buildings have been renovated and refitted but many remain as they were in the last decade or more. The building in the center of the photo has so many air-conditioning units jutting outside the windows that it is quite obvious the units were an afterthought. Other buildings would likely have centralized or more strategically positioned air-conditioning units.
Another look at the traffic jam along one of Makati’s main roads indicate a lengthy queue from the Buendia Ave.-Paseo De Roxas intersection. The junction is signalized but saturated during peak periods. I am not sure about the optimization of the signal settings but it should be synchronized with at least two other intersections: Buendia Ave.-Makati Ave. and Paseo de Roxas-Makati Ave.
The DPWH is proposing a grade separation project along Buendia that is supposed to alleviate congestion at the intersections with Paseo de Roxas and Makati Avenue. The plan is to have an underpass along the avenue that would allow vehicles to flow through and bypassing the two major intersections. At-grade would still be signalized intersections but minus substantial through traffic along Buendia. The downside of such a project, of course, would be the expected traffic congestion during the construction phase. With very limited alternate routes and restricted space (i.e., unlike the case of the Quezon Ave. underpass at Araneta Ave.), traffic management in the area will surely be a challenge for the combined forces of Makati and MMDA traffic enforcers.
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Other issues on second hand imported vehicles
Much of the discussions regarding imported second hand vehicles focus on issues of taxation (customs) or registration and allegations of smuggling. The entry of used vehicles and their significantly lower-priced sales have been issues particularly to the established automobile manufacturers and dealers in the country. Importers and dealers of vehicles coming from these special economic zones/free ports claim that they are serving people who want to own a vehicle but couldn’t afford brand new or even second hand vehicles. While this may be true for some cases where regular cars, vans or even SUVs are concerned, the perception is that these importers and dealers are mainly serving a demand for luxury vehicles like sports cars, limousines and high end SUVs from prominent brands such as Audi, BMW, Lexus, Mercedes Benz, Porsche, and Hummer, and even Ferrari and Lamborghini.
On the surface, the claimed benefits to people seem an acceptable and even noble intention. However, this is further from the truth and there is the strong opinion that all this is really just for money, plain and simple. It is also not enough justification for the negative impacts of these used vehicles, which do not go through a process of being tested for compliance with emission standards as well as for safety. The latter concern is for vehicles that undergo “conversion” from their original right hand drive set-up to become left hand drive vehicles, which are the norm in the Philippines. There is also the issue of fuel efficiency for these used vehicles and the maintenance required for these to stay in A-1 condition. All these concerns stack up and clearly show the folly of the importation of used vehicles through the economic zones.
I saw these two vehicles along Katipunan as we were coming from a meeting one afternoon. Both models were not sold by Toyota Motor Philippines and conspicuously have license plates bearing the letter “B” as a first letter, indicative that they were registered in Region 2. Region 2 is where Port Irene, Cagayan is located and which is being alleged as the source of a lot of used vehicles linked to anomalies in taxes and registration. More serious are concerns pertaining to emissions, safety and fuel efficiency.
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What Public Transit Data Teaches Us About How People Use a City
I’m sharing an interesting article featured on The Atlantic Cities, one of our favorite sites on the internet. Enjoy!
What Public Transit Data Teaches Us About How People Use a City.
National Budget Memo No. 118
The Department of Budget and Management recently released the National Budget Memo No. 118 with the subject: Adoption of the Budget Priorities Framework in the Preparation of the FY 2014 Agency Budget Proposals. The Memo emphasizes “the need to prioritize the programs critical to the attainment of the desired outcomes for the 2014-2016 period.” In addition to the bottom-up budgeting (BUB) approach, the memo identified priority geographical areas for program convergence for the 2014 budget. It is important to note the focus of the government on inclusive growth and the convergence programs for infrastructure to support industry, agriculture and tourism, as well as significant mention of climate and disaster resilience for programs to be implemented by the government. Following is a link to the DBM site where a PDF copy of the memo can be downloaded:
DBM National Budget Memorandum No. 118
I’ve downloaded a copy and this may be downloaded here:
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NAIA Terminal 3 domestic departure
NAIA Terminal 3 hosts the domestic flights of Cebu Pacific and PAL Express (formerly Air Philippines and Air Phil Express). PAL now also flies out of T3 for major cities like Cagayan De Oro, Legazpi, Puerto Princesa and Tacloban, where PAL and PAL Express flights seem to have merged and are quite difficult to tell by the aircraft. The difference becomes clear when one boards the plane and sees no Mabuhay Class seats for PAL Express and seats have the leatherette covers (similar to Ceb Pac’s) instead of the more classy fabric in PAL planes.
Hallway to the boarding gates – there are many shops and restaurants to choose from where one can have a meal or drink before a flight.
This shop is packaged like the higher end duty free shops on international terminals. There’s a Krispy Kreme donut stall that’s quite popular as pasalubong.
A typical cafe at NAIA T3
More cafes give passengers a lot of choices for where they might want to get their beverage, meal or snack.
And still more cafes…
Large signs provide adequate guidance for passengers.
The long walk – T3 is a linear terminal with gates spread along either wing of the building, which means passengers would have to walk some distance to and from their gates for departures and arrivals.
It’s summer in the Philippines, so there are more flights and passengers than usual. I was at the terminal for a 0440 flight to Tacloban and there were already a lot of people waiting for their respective flights to destinations such as Cebu, Iloilo, Bacolod, Dumaguete and Davao.
Passengers at Gate 118 seated along a corridor that also features a non-functioning “walkalator” or moving walkway. Such walkways should help passengers move more conveniently and swiftly to and from their gates but all are currently not operating (for one reason or another).
Fellow passengers at Gate 119 waiting for our boarding call
There are many television sets at T3 where passengers can catch the latest news on cable or, in this case, a replay of an NBA Playoff game.
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Mactan Cebu International Airport – Take 2
I haven’t been able to get decent photos inside Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA) in previous trips to Cebu. And so, when I finally had the opportunity recently, I wasted no time taking a few photos inside the terminal. MCIA is frequently in the news these days as its proposed expansion is being bidded out. The airport is the second busiest airport in the country after Manila’s NAIA; serving more than 6 million international and domestic passengers in 2011. This will continue to increase as Cebu develops further in terms of business and tourism.
Check-in counters for Philippine Airlines
The check-in counters for Zest Air (formerly Asian Spirit) and Seair (now operated by Tiger Airways) were practically beside PAL’s. The PAL counters between Zest Air and Seair used to be Air Phil Express counters. The latter is now known as PAL Express, PAL’s repackaged budget airlines.
Cebu connects with many other cities in Visayas and Mindanao. The number of domestic flights are comparable to Manila and there are destinations in Mindanao that do not have direct flights connecting to Manila. Instead, one would have to fly via Cebu or Davao.
Information on designated terminals for flights to and from Manila. PAL subsidiary Air Philippines, which became Air Phil Express and now PAL Express used to fly out of NAIA Terminal 3 with PAL exclusively using Terminal 2. With the re-organization of PAL and its more aggressive approach at present, the airline now seems to have expanded and is now competing with Cebu Pacific for space at Terminal 3.
There are many souvenir shops at the airport, many selling food items like the popular dried mangoes, otap, rosquillos, and dried sea food. Popular brands are Titay’s and Shamrock. The items at the shops at the airport are priced higher so it is advisable for people to purchase souvenirs at local shops or supermarkets in the city. Titay’s and Shamrock have their own shops in Cebu and Mandaue. Dried fish is best bought at the market in Cebu (Ask your driver to take you to the “tabuan” market.).
Islands Souvenirs is an established brand in the Philippines specializing in souvenir shirts and other items. I used to collect shirts from the cities I have visited and I have already collected quite a lot from my travels in the country. There is an Islands Souvenirs shop at most major cities in the country. MCIA also has a Timex stall at the pre-departure area. Timex is a watch company producing high quality watches out of the economic zone in Lapu-lapu City.
Pre-departure area at MCIA – the area can get quite crowded during the day when most flights depart out of the terminal. PAL fields wide bodied aircraft to address the high demand between Manila and Cebu during the day.
Gate 4 seats at the MCIA
Passengers waiting for their flight. My flight back to Manila wasn’t a full one probably because it was a later flight.
There’s been a lot going on in MCIA ever since the former Cebu City Planning and Development chief Paul Villarete took over as General Manager. I’ve noticed the improvements as I have been to Cebu quite frequently since 1996. These include a cleaner terminal and more efficient services in the airport. MCIA is a work in progress and should soon be upgraded with a new terminal building. I’m hopeful that the groups bidding for the project will do a great job as at least two of them are associated with top airports in Changi (Singapore) and Incheon (Korea).
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Daniel Romualdez Airport in Tacloban
I had been to Tacloban only once before and was not able to take some photos of the airport. This time around, I was able to get a few photos as I checked in for my flight back to Manila. Tacloban Airport is among the busiest airports in the country serving more than 1 million passengers annually. Tacloban is the regional center of Eastern Visayas and is the only airport in that region with jet airline (A319s and A320s) service. Despite the increasing demand due to growth in both industry and tourism, the airport is limited by its runway and terminal. A planeload of passengers already crowd the pre-departure area on a regular basis and conditions in the area is not at all comfortable. While there is a room for changing diapers and another for breastfeeding (thanks to DOTC’s Gender Awareness and Development program), there are few other amenities at the terminal.
Philippine Airlines check-in counter
Cebu Pacific and Zest Air check-in counters
Ceb Pac passengers waiting to board the aircraft on the tarmac
Another shot of the crowded pre-departure area
PAL passengers waiting for their plane to arrive
Tacloban Airport is due for expansion with a new terminal proposed for construction nearby. The land where the new terminal will be constructed has been acquired and cordoned off and I was told that the runway will be lengthened. I am just not sure if DOTC or CAAP has acquired the lands necessary for the runway component of the project but upgrading the runway for the airport to accommodate wide bodied aircraft will indeed require much land. Nevertheless, it is a project that is long overdue and needed to push for development of the region, which has one of the higher incidence of poverty at 37.2% for Region 8. Leyte has a 31.9% poverty incidence while Southern Leyte is at 36.4%. Neighboring Samar provinces have even worse statistics with Western Samar at 36%, Northern Samar at 43.7% and Eastern Samar at a staggering 59.4% poverty incidence. These stats are based on the figures recently released by the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) based on the Family Income and Expenditure Survey (FIES) conducted in 2012.
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Signaling
I recently read an article about signaling in the United States. It states that about 25% of turns are not signaled. That is, drivers do not signal prior to turning left or right at an intersection. This comes as somewhat a surprise for me as I thought this statistic should be lower in the US considering their stricter procedures for getting a license. I don’t really observe signaling behavior in the US when I am there also because maybe I assume that traffic enforcement is also stricter and errant behavior would usually be caught and the driver cited by the police.
In the Philippines, it’s a lot worse with many if not most drivers of all types of vehicles including motorcycles not indicating their intention to turn for other motorists. Drivers of public utility vehicles like buses, jeepneys and taxis are perceived to be the ones with the highest likelihood of not signaling prior to turning at an intersection or to change lanes. The results, of course, are chaotic driving conditions along Philippine roads and especially in urban streets where motorcycles add to the complexity as riders zip in and out of every conceivable space between vehicles.
I am not aware of any formal studies on signaling and related driver behavior in the Philippines. Perhaps there is one somewhere and not necessarily on traffic engineering but on psychology or other behavioral studies. Such researches, while appearing to be simple and somewhat trivial to some, can be quite helpful in understanding driver behavior and how these can influence the road environment. Abrupt or poor anticipation of turning or lane changing may lead to road crashes and motorists in the country are not the easiest to educate after getting their licenses. Of course, nothing can replace consistent, strict enforcement of traffic rules and regulations to encourage good behavior along our roads but this would just be a reinforcement of what was supposed to have been taught at driving school in the first place.
Here’s the link to the article appearing on the website Atlantic Cities:
DIY Urbanism of the Day: How Many Drivers in Your Nabe Aren’t Signaling?
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Francisco Bangoy International Airport revisited
The number of views for Davao’s international airport spiked a few days ago and from the responses to the posting on Facebook, it’s clear that people are appreciative of good infrastructure provided to them. People in other cities expressed similar or related feelings in relation to the post with many expressing that they hoped their city could have a good airport. Well, we know at least that Iloilo and Bacolod have good airports in Cabatuan and Silay that are now serving international flights as well. Hopefully, we’ll have more airports upgraded like Tacloban, Tagbilaran, Legaspi and Puerto Princesa that are all very crowded as more people fly to these cities including tourists whose numbers are steadily increasing. Cebu’s airport expansion is up for bidding and Northern Mindanao will soon have a large airport opening at Laguindingan. Cagayan De Oro’s Lumbia Airport will eventually be phased out. Meanwhile, here are a few more photos on DVO from a recent trip I had.
Check-in counter for Philippine Airlines passengers
Check-in counters for PAL and Cebu Pacific
The spacious terminal is desirable for large cities like Davao and generally serves the entire region.
Cebu Pacific’s self service terminal that I first saw in Davao and now is also in other airports as well
The check-in counters as seen from the escalator as I went up to the departure level
The corridor to the pre-departure area Gates 1 and 2 of the terminal
View of PAL Airbus A320 at the airport
Spacious pre-departure area at the airport
Another look at the spacious pre-departure area at Davao’s airport – I assume that the area can become full if the aircraft happens to be a widebody like the B747 or A330.
More on airports soon…
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Caught (up) in traffic 