Viral in social media, roaming rat spotted at NAIA Terminal 3
By J.Lo
"Hello NAIA, una surot, ngayon naman may daga sa international departure? Yung totoo?!?!" X user wrote. First there were bedbugs. Then came a rat.
Days after passengers complained of bedbug-infested rattan and metal chairs at Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 2, another video of a large rat running around the international departure area of NAIA Terminal 3 early yesterday has gone viral.
In a three-minute video clip
uploaded by user Kerb (@Curve251) on X, a huge rat can be seen scampering around lighting fixtures in the ceiling of the international departure area in NAIA Terminal 3.
According to the uploader, the video was taken at around 1 a.m. on March 1.
Last Thursday, the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) removed the bedbug-infested rattan chairs at the lobby of NAIA 2, after two passengers complained on Facebook that they were bitten by bedbugs.
MIAA general manager Eric Ines issued a directive to conduct comprehensive facility inspections and enhanced sanitation measures following the reported bedbug infestation.
Ines is meeting this Monday with all pest control service providers at the NAIA together with housekeeping, to review cleaning and disinfection processes, according to MIAA head executive assistant Chris Bendijo.
If negligence is established and service cannot be improved, "definitely" service contracts would be canceled, Bendijo told media.
The rattan chairs have been permanently removed, Bendijo told media. He said the pest control provider noted that the bed[1]bugs appeared unusually large, unlike local ones.
Meanwhile, Sen. Grace Poe said "there is an increasing infestation problem. That's an issue in other countries as well. In France, train stations and some hotel rooms are affected."
"Cleaning and disinfecting should be a standard operating procedure, not just during virus outbreak or infestation," said Poe, chair of the Senate committee on public services.
As San Miguel Corp. and its partners are set to take over NAIA, tycoon Ramon Ang expressed excitement to tackle the problems that have been besetting the gateway all these years.
Ang has been looking at the problems besetting the airport including leaks in buildings – if any – and other inconveniences that affect passengers.
Asked to comment about the presence of bedbugs in NAIA, Ang replied in jest: was media referring to any of his competitors. Turning serious, Ang assured stakeholders that the bedbug problem would be addressed.
"We will change all the seats immediately this September with brand new stainless seats," Ang said.
On the bigger problem of airport congestion, Ang plans to do a realignment of sorts in the runway by relocating Terminal 4 to give way to a longer runway, he said.
Details of this are being threshed out.
There's no lack of surprises at NAIA, the country's main gateway and passengers can only sigh in frustration or in resignation.
Some seats at Terminal 2 have been infested with bugs or surot. Making their way through social media are videos of pests the size of marbles crawling out of the holes of the stainless steel seats.
Passengers bitten by the bugs showed parts of their arms and legs riddled with giant patches of swollen red welts of all shapes and sizes. As if this isn't bad enough, another video on social media was uploaded yesterday showing a huge rat crawling around the ceiling of Terminal 3.
All these surprising experiences that NAIA has given its passengers through the years have put the gateway in a class of its own.
Remember that there was a time when passengers found their luggage randomly planted with bullets – tanim-bala, it was called.
Last year, a Jan. 1 power outage – although caused by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines' system and not by the MIAA and which led to the closure of the whole Philippine airspace – affected airport passengers and disrupted whatever was left of the holidays.
Not too long ago, there was also an airport security staff caught on CCTV supposedly eating bank notes, after a passenger complained of losing $300 after passing through airport screening.
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