Duterte order to remove airport restos for more seats to create unemployment problem -solon

As far as ACT Teachers party-list Representative France Castro is concerned, President Rodrigo Duterte's order for the Department of Transportation to close down airport restaurants to give way for more seats for stranded passengers may do more harm than good.

In a message to reporters on Wednesday, Castro said Duterte's order to remove airport restaurants will "create another problem of unemployment."

At the same time, the order will give more inconvenience to the stranded passengers "since they cannot buy food while waiting to board," she added.

"Will the airport management provide them food?" Castro asked.

Thousands of locally stranded individuals have found themselves sleeping on cartons outside airport terminals after their flights to the provinces were cancelled.

The government issued a moratorium on the return to the provinces amid the COVID-19 pandemic after some local government units said they had no more room at their isolation facilities.

Duterte, in a pre-taped address aired on Tuesday night, lamented how the Ninoy Aquino International Airport is poorly-designed as it does not have enough seats for passengers.

"Alam mo 'yang airport na 'yan, kung sino nag design niyan g--o, sabihin mo sa kanya. Walang upuan. Iilan lang ang upuan. Kapag ang mga flights nag patong, 'yung iba naka tindig," he said.

"What's really worse is that merong restaurant diyan sa labas na malaki. Palisin mo 'yung restaurant lagyan mo ng upuan kasi 'yung iba mg merong mga bata, mga buntis," he added.

According to Duterte, this was a "classic" case of government neglect.

"Kawawa 'yung tao. This is a classic case of government--and I must admit inabot ko ang problema, e di kasali ako. I'm not washing my hands. This is a failure of government, neglect," Duterte said.

"Art [Tugade], lagyan mo ng silya lahat 'yan. 'Yang restaurant diyan kung ma-terminate mo contracts, terminate them. Because I need them to seat the passengers waiting," he added. -MDM, GMA News