Letting go: The challenge of parenting teens
At this stage, there are some things that she has to learn to do alone. Navigating the city with her friend, of course with precautions in place, was an adventure she looked forward too; and something that my gut told me I should not intrude upon. I was happy she was able to take her exam, meet up with family, and go out with friends.
Unfortunately, on her flight back home, I got an S.O.S call that she and her friend were being picked-on by a powertripping agent of Cebu Pacific at NAIA T3. They had done web check-in and were set to go to their gate, when the said agent stopped them, and forced them to check-in their small carryons for a fee.
They reasoned out that they were carrying only that and a small backpack (which serves as their handbag); stating that these items were the exact ones they were allowed to use on the flight going there. The only extra was the MaryGrace shopping bag of cheese rolls, which they could easily stuff into their backpacks.
The agent asked for their IDs and knew that they were minors. They both asked her to hold-on because they wanted to talk to their parents, being very well aware of their rights as passengers. But while on the phone, the gate agent tagged the bags and placed them on the bag-drop conveyor belt without their consent. She gave them a paper charging them 20kilos, leaving them no choice but to pay.
The two teens argued and said that their bags were not even overweight, with the agent smugly retorting one was 7.5 and the other 8kilos. You do the math! The allowed carry-on weight is 7 kilos. They could have transferred stuff to their backpacks. But the agent rebutted that the suitcases were inside. They tried to get her full name and asked for her ID, but she would not give it, citing privacy reasons.
My daughter called stating the girl was picking on them because others with bigger luggage and more shopping bags were allowed in without any hitches. She told me: “Mom, I asked to speak to a supervisor but no one wanted to own up to it. They were very rude! We were pressed for time, so the best solution