THE Department of Transportation (DOTr) vowed on Wednesday, August 1, to look into the allegedly unprecedented flooding that ripped through the passenger walkway at the new Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) Terminal 2.
Heavy rains triggered gutter-deep floods at the MCIA Terminal 2, which was inaugurated on June 7, based on the photos uploaded on the Facebook account of a netizen named Xig Abadilla.
DOTr Secretary Arthur Tugade said the government would come up with solutions to avoid flooding in the new terminal in the future.
"Titignan ho natin iyan. At alam ko naman na hindi palalampasin natin yung estado na kung saan binabaha [ang bagong airport terminal sa Cebu] (We will look into that. And we will not ignore the reported flooding [in the new airport terminal in Cebu])," Tugade told Palace reporters in a weekly economic briefing.
"Eto ho, mag-papakita lang na dapat tignan pansin yung pag-gawa at kung meron talaga iyan, solusyonan natin (It only shows that we need to give attention and find solution to it)," he added.
The MCIA Terminal 2, which increases the airport's annual passenger capacity to 12.2 million passengers from the current 4.5 million, began operations on July 1 in an effort to reduce airport congestion.
The 65,000-square-meter facility was designed to serve solely as an international passenger terminal.
Tugade said he was informed by Andrew Harrison, chief executive advisor of GMR Megawide Cebu Airport Corporation, that MCIA Terminal 2 is already operational, as of Wednesday, August 1.
"Andrew Harrison said it is usable again by the departing passengers," the DOTr chief said.
"It (flooding) was caused by heavy rains and clogged drainage outside the terminal. They expect a permanent fix within the day," he added. (VoxPop Philippines)
