Fine for Chinese airline, but no second runway

I was watching the Senate inquiry into the Xiamen Airlines crash landing at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on ABS-CBN's ANC and apparently the news about that investigation is for the government to demand a P33million fine for the inconvenience Xiamen Airlines caused to the aviation industry since August 16 when thousands of airline passengers could not fly out of NAIA as the main runway was blocked by their Boeing 737.

Manila International Airport Authority General Manager Ed Monreal said the amount could go higher depending on the outcome of negotiations. What negotiations is he talking about? If you are going to fine the airline for the inconvenience it caused there is only one figure to use; the amount spent in removing the aircraft from the runway and the amount spent by airlines that had to pay its grumbling passengers.

Yes I heard Senator Grace Poe discuss the need for a second runway, but apparently the DOTr didn't give any details as to what plans they had for NAIA. To get a second runway they have to expropriate the Moonwalk Village which is beside the main runway and pay the owners of those houses so they can expand the runway. Of course the alternative is for NAIA to accept various proposals. Like the Bulacan International Airport as proposed by Ramon Ang of San Miguel Corp. or further expansion of the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport in Pampanga.

The question is about money or the lack of it. Accepting the SMC proposal means the government won't be spending a centavo in building this new modern airport. However it also means it would lose a lot of revenue from Clark and NAIA. It is a tough decision for DOTr, or for President Rodrigo “Digong” Duterte, to make. But whatever is decided is something better than the current state of our airport today, therefore it is a nobrainer for the president.