FIRST SAY:
“If you can approach the world's complexities, both its glories and its horrors, with an attitude of humble curiosity, acknowledging that however deeply you have seen, you have only scratched the surface, you will find worlds within worlds, beauties you could not heretofore imagine, and your own mundane preoccupations will shrink to proper size, not all that important in the greater scheme of things. Keeping that awestruck vision of the world ready to hand while dealing with the demands of daily living is no easy exercise, but it is definitely worth the effort, for if you can stay centered, and engaged, you will find the hard choices easier, the right words will come to you when you need them, and you will indeed be a better person. That, I propose, is the secret to spirituality, and it has nothing at all to do with believing in an immortal soul.”
― Daniel C. Dennett, Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon
There are some interesting tweaks happening in the local tourism industry—showing the emerging tourist behavior and the impact it has on flight schedules of local airlines.
Come July 1, 2024, Philippine Airlines (PAL) will cease to offer the Cebu-Baguio-Cebu route. This means travelers from Central Visayas who wanted to take a vacation or a respite from the hot weather down south will have to go to Manila or Clark first before continuing their journey by land to Baguio City. Businessmen who have things to do in both cities or regions are also affected, along with ordinary passengers with personal reasons for travel.
Lucio Tan’s PAL, the nation’s flag carrier, called the change as “routine network adjustments.” Reports however said that the halting of the flights is attributed to poor passenger traffic between Cebu and Baguio, despite that fact that these two cities are among the top tourist destinations in the Philippines. The travelers’ options now are to make the trip by sea or by land, unless they have a private plane to use.
Come to think of it, Philippine Airlines will not decide to close the route if it is making money. The airline launched its Cebu-Baguio flights in December 2022. Passengers are flown using the De Havilland Canada Dash 8 Series 400 NG aircraft, a small propeller-type plane.
“Passengers of the cancelled flight Cebu-Baguio-Cebu will be provided the necessary assistance. We remain supportive of local government’s initiatives in promoting Baguio as a destination,” the flag carrier said.
Air travel from Cebu to Baguio takes an hour and 45 minutes on average. That is of course a lot more comfortable than embarking on a long drive that would take the whole 24 hours or more. The better option is to take the flight to Manila or Clark and then take the bus to Baguio.
From Central Visayas we go to Eastern Visayas and inquire on the status of air travel in Tacloban City.
Last May 13, I went to the PAL ticket office in Ali Mall, Cubao to buy a ticket for Tacloban but the man at the counter said the next available seat is still on May 22 yet. Imagine a waiting time of 9 days just to go to Tacloban via PAL? Plane tickets to Tacloban, and thus to the rest of Eastern Visayas, are so rare that they might be considered pricey.
The Cebu Pacific ticketing office is more accessible, with just a week’s waiting time and probably a little cheaper than PAL.
The latest report says low-cost carrier Cebu Pacific is preparing to host more flights to Tacloban City. The trips will emanate from two of the biggest airports: the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) and the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA).
Tacloban is fast becoming an important gateway not only to Eastern Visayas, but also in the whole of central Philippines.
NAIA will have 48 weekly flights to Tacloban, up from the current 41.
Two more flights will be added to the Cebu-Tacloban-Cebu route, increasing the existing 17 weekly flights.
“We have been monitoring that there is always a high load for Tacloban [year-round] — to the point that even our team finds it difficult to book,” Carmina Romero, director for corporate communications at Cebu Pacific, said. She added that bookings have always been full, even before the city’s runway began undergoing repairs.
Flight schedules at Daniel Z. Romualdez Airport in Tacloban have been limited since May 2 due to the runway asphalt overlay project. The airport’s operating hours were shortened to 6 a.m. to 6.p.m. daily, affecting around 12 flights to and from Manila.
Tacloban has become a booming city again in just a few years after it was devastated by typhoon Yolanda. It is in fact the fastest-growing city in the region. It has good hotels such as the Summit Hotel and the Go Hotel, near Robinsons, but these two are always fully booked. Another good hotel is Hotel de Fides along the highway.
Good accommodations are basic in the game of enticing tourists to your city, and Tacloban is doing it right in this area.
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At least three out of four Filipinos believe that China poses the "greatest" threat to the Philippines, according to a survey conducted by independent pollster OCTA Research.
In its Tugon ng Masa poll conducted from March 11-14, 2024, 76 percent of Filipinos believe that China could be a potential threat to the Philippines, although this is down slightly from 79 percent in the previous quarter's survey in December, but well within the nationwide margin of error, which is at plus or minus three percent.
Other perceived threats were Russia, at 9 percent, followed by North Korea, Pakistan, Japan and Saudi Arabia, with responses ranging from 2 percent to 1 percent.
These 1,200 respondents in the survey are what Secretary Larry Gadon would call “bobo.”
Did it not cross their minds that the United States is the biggest threat to our national security? If the Americans create a false-flag attack on Chinese vessels in the South China Sea, the Philippines will be dragged into a war not of its own making. History is replete with examples of this American behavior.
That is the ultimate threat to our national security.
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