Duterte wants Clark airport service provider out after luggage pilferage
President Rodrigo Duterte has said he wants the contract with Miascor Aviation Services terminated after the luggage theft incident at the Clark International Airport in Pampanga.
Duterte met in Malacanang on Thursday airport officials and Jovinal dela Cruz and Rosemary Verzosa who complained that their baggage and boxes were pilfered at the airport.
"I would demand that there will be justice instantly. Whoever is the service provider there, you terminate the contract and look for another one," he said in the transcript of the meeting provided to the media on Friday.
Duterte said he did not want to see similar incident from happening again in the other airports in the Philippines.
"And so for the other airports in the country, I do not want it repeated ever again," he said as he warned airport officials and employees that he will kick them in public and fire them if the same incident happens again.
"The next time, if it happens, I will fire you. That's for sure. If robbery again happens, I will fire you," he said.
"So I would also demand that the airport authorities should call the complainant and make amends, may be in public to apologize for the sloppy job that we are doing," he added.
During the meeting, Duterte inquired on the status of those who allegedly committed the looting.
Clark International Airport Corp. Acting President Alexander Cauguiran said the suspects, who were Miascor's employees, were already arrested but they were out on bail.
He also said that Miascor already terminated the suspects.
Duterte apologized to the victims after being informed that Dela Cruz and Verzosa were present.
"So I deeply apologize. We will pay (for) whatever your losses," he said.
But when Cauguiran informed the President that the victims already received payment from Miascor, Duterte became irked, saying that there should be no settlement.
Meanwhile, in a statement, Miascor said it will formally issue an appeal to the President to reconsider his position of terminating the contract in Clark airport.
The appeal will be made in behalf of its almost 4,000 regular employees and their families who will be affected, it said.
"It is unfortunate that the actions of six erring employees in Clark International Airport have negatively impacted the Company," Miascor said as it expressed sincere regret over the recent incident.
"We would like to stress that we do not tolerate this type of behavior from any of our employees. Miascor is committed to conducting its business with the highest standards of compliance and ethics. And every employee is expected to demonstrate professionalism, honesty and integrity," it said.
Miascor said it has been in operations since 1974 and has presence in several key airports in the country, including the Ninoy Aquino Internatiomal Airport, providing aviation services. Celerina Monte/DMS