Source: PDI
CLARK FREEPORT—The carpet had been rolled out but the special guests weren’t around.
Officials of the Clark International Airport Corp. (Ciac) and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (Owwa) were disappointed to find out that some 60 Filipino workers from Libya were not on board the Air Asia Berhad Flight 662 that landed at the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) here at 11:15 a.m. on Saturday.
The overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) were supposed to be flown to the airport here on board the aircraft from Kuala Lumpur. The workers were earlier flown from Libya to Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Ciac president Victor Jose Luciano and his staff members prepared packed lunch, consisting of rice and chicken adobo, for the OFWs. They also hired a bus and prepared Ciac coasters to bring them to Metro Manila.
Owwa chartered another bus to fetch the OFWs from this free port.
But at around 10:20 a.m., officials of the Owwa regional office arrived and told Luciano about the conflicting advisories they got on the OFWs’ arrival.
Socorro Castro, acting Owwa Central Luzon director, earlier relayed to Luciano about the information her office had received that the OFWs might arrive on Saturday afternoon on board an Air Asia flight from Kota Kinabalu.
But they later talked to a contact in Malaysia and received confirmation that the OFWs were on board the 11:15 a.m. flight from Kuala Lumpur.
Luciano and Ritchie Nacpil, airport operation manager, then obtained a copy of the flight manifest and learned that 102 supposed passengers, mostly Filipinos, of Air Asia Flight 662 were “no show” at the Kuala Lumpur airport. The airplane was carrying only 79 passengers, most of them non-Filipinos.
When the plane landed, it was not carrying a single OFW from Libya.
Luciano, who cited flight schedules, told the Inquirer that the OFWs would probably arrive here at 11:15 a.m. today (March 6, Sunday) on board the same aircraft.
Mayorito David, Owwa case officer, said the OFWs were still stranded in Bangladesh.
“They were not able to board the plane to Kuala Lumpur. They’re still in Dhaka. We still don’t know what happened. It was confirmed to us last night by Owwa main office that the OFWs would be arriving at 11 a.m. [Saturday]. It’s an unforeseen event. We don’t know what happened,” he said.
The packs of rice and adobo were distributed to policemen, customs and security personnel, and office staff at the airport here.
The OFWs’ relatives were not in the DMIA on Saturday. “The families must have been informed by their relatives that they’re not on board the Air Asia flight,” security personnel said.
Download our free toolbar here
CLARK FREEPORT—The carpet had been rolled out but the special guests weren’t around.
Officials of the Clark International Airport Corp. (Ciac) and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (Owwa) were disappointed to find out that some 60 Filipino workers from Libya were not on board the Air Asia Berhad Flight 662 that landed at the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) here at 11:15 a.m. on Saturday.
The overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) were supposed to be flown to the airport here on board the aircraft from Kuala Lumpur. The workers were earlier flown from Libya to Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Ciac president Victor Jose Luciano and his staff members prepared packed lunch, consisting of rice and chicken adobo, for the OFWs. They also hired a bus and prepared Ciac coasters to bring them to Metro Manila.
Owwa chartered another bus to fetch the OFWs from this free port.
But at around 10:20 a.m., officials of the Owwa regional office arrived and told Luciano about the conflicting advisories they got on the OFWs’ arrival.
Socorro Castro, acting Owwa Central Luzon director, earlier relayed to Luciano about the information her office had received that the OFWs might arrive on Saturday afternoon on board an Air Asia flight from Kota Kinabalu.
But they later talked to a contact in Malaysia and received confirmation that the OFWs were on board the 11:15 a.m. flight from Kuala Lumpur.
Luciano and Ritchie Nacpil, airport operation manager, then obtained a copy of the flight manifest and learned that 102 supposed passengers, mostly Filipinos, of Air Asia Flight 662 were “no show” at the Kuala Lumpur airport. The airplane was carrying only 79 passengers, most of them non-Filipinos.
When the plane landed, it was not carrying a single OFW from Libya.
Luciano, who cited flight schedules, told the Inquirer that the OFWs would probably arrive here at 11:15 a.m. today (March 6, Sunday) on board the same aircraft.
Mayorito David, Owwa case officer, said the OFWs were still stranded in Bangladesh.
“They were not able to board the plane to Kuala Lumpur. They’re still in Dhaka. We still don’t know what happened. It was confirmed to us last night by Owwa main office that the OFWs would be arriving at 11 a.m. [Saturday]. It’s an unforeseen event. We don’t know what happened,” he said.
The packs of rice and adobo were distributed to policemen, customs and security personnel, and office staff at the airport here.
The OFWs’ relatives were not in the DMIA on Saturday. “The families must have been informed by their relatives that they’re not on board the Air Asia flight,” security personnel said.
