After bed bugs, rat spoils NAIA execs’ day

Still reeling from a backlash from a bedbugs report, the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 drew flak af ter another concerned traveler shared a video of a rat he spotted on the airport ceiling on Friday.

After bedbugs bit passengers in their seats at the airport’s pre-departure area came the short clip of a huge rat strutting around the backlit ceiling of Gate 102 posted on X by a traveler waiting for his flight at 1 a.m. Friday.

“Hello NAIA, una surot, ngayon naman may daga sa (first bedbugs, now a rat at) international departure? Yung totoo?!?! (Truth)” the post read.

Last Thursday, after receiving criticisms on Facebook for the bug bites suffered by two passengers, the Manila International Airport Authority removed the infected rattan chairs from the domestic lobby of NAIA Terminal 2.

MIAA general manager Eric Ines issued a directive to conduct comprehensive facility inspections and enhance sanitation measures following the reported bedbug infestation.

NAIA Terminal 2 began operations in 1999, while Terminal 3 opened on 22 July 2008.

Meanwhile, Senator Grace Poe noted “an increasing infestation problem. That’s an issue in other countries as well. In France, train stations and some hotel rooms were affected.”

Poe, chair of the Senate Committee on Public Services, said, “Cleaning and disinfecting should be standard operating procedure, not just during virus outbreaks or infestations.”

MIAA general manager Eric Ines issued a directive to conduct comprehensive facility inspections and enhance sanitation measures following the reported bedbug infestation.