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1. AirPhil inaugural flight and the comfort of crocs

The chance to join a group of journalists on board an A-320 aircraft for the inaugural flight of AirPhil Express' (formerly Air Philippines) Davao-Iloilo and vice versa route on August 18.

We took off at exactly 3:20 p.m. at Davao City International Airport and arrived at new Iloilo City Airport at 4:40 p.m. We had our return flight to Davao City at 5:45 p.m. using the same aircraft.

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The company will continue to expand its regional service, opening more routes as the airline is bent on capturing at least 20 percent of the aviation market by next year.

"Today, we open two more routes, the Davao-Iloilo and vice versa and the Manila-Ozamis and vice versa routes," Hogan told Sun.Star on board the Davao-Iloilo flight.

Since the flight leaves late in the afternoon, no need for Dabawenyos to stay overnight in Iloilo City, which was usually done in order to take an early flight served by another airline to Davao City.

And while travelling, we always want to be comfortable and at ease with what we wear, especially footwear. We are always on the lookout for shoes that will make us look nice.

We want to wear shoes that are easy to remove from our feet especially when we pass through the airport's x-ray inspection -- one that is lightweight and comfortable.

And the one that can give you such is Crocs sneakers. I experienced that during the inaugural flight, my first time to wear a Crocs Hover Lace-up sneaker on my flight.

Uberlight comfort and sporty style meet in this vintage-inspired Hover Lace-up canvas sneakers. Weighing in at just a few ounces, this sneaker is built upon a form-to-fit Crocs' Croslite™ material foot bed with circulation nubs for a massage-like feel -- that makes it really very comfortable.

Crocs sneakers transcend the ordinary. It's advanced, hi-tech, and fashionable --qualities of the footwear every man is looking for. It comes in various colors and designed with comfort in mind --
be it at the office or during walks at the parks, malls or the beach.

2. Amigo: Economic effects of C2

MANILA -- Away from the hustle and bustle of political maneuverings, crucifixion and what have you, is the concern of the long-lingering FAA downgrading of Philippine aviation from Category 1 to Category 2.

So goes our lead paragraph last week where we tackled a topic on veritable aviation and tourism revenue losses in billions of much-needed cash that could feed and provide basic services to millions of our less fortunate brothers and sisters.

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PH has now racked up more than P66.30 billion in tourism revenues simply because of that C2 downgrade.

And that figure, the group said, comes from the United States market alone because of our dear Philippines’s Category 2 status.

PH's Category 2 status is delaying expansion of routes by local airlines to the US and other countries.

A good example to this is no other than Cebu Pacific whose plans of spreading its wings further to the USA remain in the back burner because of C2.

C2 really denies the country of additional tourist arrivals from North America (read: zero tourism revenues), observers aver.

This, they said, must be studied, reviewed by the Aquino Administration as soon as possible, spearheaded by no other than brand-new DOTC Secretary and close P-Noy ally Mar Roxas.

The CAAP is a line agency of the DOTC.

Of course, there is no need explaining it as the former Senator and DTI Secretary knows the economic effects of FAA’s C2 as he knows Philippine economy better that anybody else.

Again, without further explanation, C2 also resulted into Europe’s banning against Philippine air carriers’ entering into their radars notwithstanding the telltale unfavorable travel advisory to the Philippines.

Indeed, according a foreign aviation expert who requested anonymity, the operational ban issued by the European Union against Philippine Air Carriers has significant consequences for the economy.

As it was mentioned by the PTAA, one side effect of the ban is that tourists from EU countries would not be able to get travel insurance when travelling on any Philippine carrier for inter-island travel.

Aside from Philippine air carriers being banned from flying to Europe, European citizens are likewise advised and discouraged by their countries from travelling into the Philippines since the safety rating of our aviation industry has tremendous implications on their life insurance policies.

In other words, travel aboard a Philippine aircraft is an uninsurable risk for any European citizen. A logical consequence of this would be that European tourists would opt to go to neighboring Asean countries that offer similar tropical conditions for their recreational activities.

It’s also worth mentioning about the limitations on air traffic expansion for Philippine Air Carriers to the United States and its consequential impact to the local labor force.

Clearly therefore, the C2 Rating has a significant impact on the business operations, labor and profitability of any Philippine air carrier.

Plans of Cebu Pacific in expanding to the United States are likewise put on hold which therefore limits its ability to increase operations, generate more jobs and have greater revenue which redounds to the benefit of the country.

Erosion of investor confidence

At the outset, the Category 2 Rating and operational ban of Europe had influenced Saudi Arabia, Japan, South Korea and Australia to impose similar restrictions against the Philippines.

It was only through diplomatic channels and negotiations that the Civil Aviations Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) was able to avert the actions of such states from likewise banning Philippine air carriers in their respective jurisdictions.

The recent political movements at CAAP through the insertion of political appointees accordingly threatened and undermined the legal framework and professional processes of CAAP which should be an independent safety regulator.

The same source added that these controversies have “exacerbated the problems of C2 since it resulted in the postponement of the International Civil Aviation Organization audit that would have resulted into the reinstatement of the Philippines to Category 1.”

“The Category 2 rating is a strong message against the state of the aviation industry which therefore discourages economic growth and investor confidence. The continued derogatory status of the Philippines and its failure to achieve Category 1 may lead to other countries following the initiative of the European Union and ban Philippine carriers due to safety considerations,” the source said.

It was way back January 14, 2008 that a newspaper report came about the US’s Federal Aviation Administration downgraded to the Philippines to C2 quoting a statement from FAA’s website as “unsafe port of origin.”

Countries under C1 are those compliant with aviation safety standards of the ICAO. Failure to meet its stringent standards automatically nets C2 rating.

Other countries with C2 ratings are Bangladesh, Cote Dâvoire, Ghana, Guyana, Indonesia, Ukraine, Serbia and Montenegro (formerly Yugoslavia) and Nauru.

3. Our Outstanding Policemen in Service
MANILA, Philippines — Metrobank Foundation’s annual search for the Country’s Outstanding Policemen in Service (COPS) is shining proof that national treasures in uniform abound in our communities.

The search aims to recognize the noble men and women of the Philippine National Police who are not only experts in crime solution and prevention, but are also servants of the community.

This year, Metrobank Foundation named three commissioned officers and five non-commissioned officers as the country’s outstanding police officers.

The commissioned officers are: Supt. Steve Bentican Ludan of the PNP Aviation Group, Chief Insp. Delia Jacob Ingalla of the Taguig City Police Station, and Supt. Samuel Pomasin Turla of the Pasay City Police Station.

SPO1 Manuel Almadrigo Padlan of the Antipolo Police Station, SPO4 Emmanuel Portillo Isiang of the Surigao del Sur Police Provincial Office, PO3 Rodel Umaclap Alcano of Calapan City Police Station, PO2 Rina dela Cruz Salaya of the Maasin Municipal Police Station, and SPO2 Helen Lapay dela Cruz of the National Capital Region Criminal Investigation and Detection Group comprise the non-commissioned officers category.

Supt. Ludan has excelled in crime solution in his 22 years of service: Taking down a notorious kidnap for ransom group and dismantling a shabu tiangge. However, he has also stood out in crime prevention, conceiving of Cavite’s Oplan Bantay Crimen Network — which involves civilian cooperation through text messaging.

Chief Insp. Ingalla, for her part, created Oplan Nightbirds, an anti-criminality program in Taguig which directed public safety officers to put up evening patrol routes in Taguig, particularly in crime-prone areas.

Ingalla also conducted her own lecture series which she named after herself: DELIA, which is short for Dare to make a difference; Education is the key to end violence against women and children; Liberate abused women, children and family from the bondage of violence; Idealism and inspiration; and Acceptance and acknowledgement.

Supt. Turla likewise created community programs that enabled the conduct of seminars on drug abuse, crime prevention, and parenting skills in workplaces and schools. He also created Project COMPACT (Community and Police Against Crime and Terrorism), which provided the Pasay City Police Station with a steady stream of useful information on criminals.

SPO1 Padlan initiated the Traffic Adjudication Program in Antipolo City, where conflicts between commuters and drivers are resolved outside the courtrooms, opening up the judicial system to more important cases and directly improving the traffic situation in the city.

SPO4 Isiang conceived of the Pulong Pulong (Public Dialogues) program in his Surigao community, enabling the police to actively work on the barangay level to create processes by which citizens can help the PNP in crime prevention.

PO3 Alcano, a community relations officer, has become the public voice of the Calapan City police force through his regular radio program, “Ang Mamang Pulis ng Calapan City.” He also reaches out to schools, barangays and Muslim communities through various talks, symposia and economic development initiatives such as Gulayan ni Mama at Aleng Pulis sa Paaralan, Linis Eskwelahan and Puno Para sa Kalikasan. PO2 Salaya conceived of the Pulis Ko, Teacher Ko program in Maasin, Iloilo, bringing the police to the town’s schools and teaching them the importance of patriotism, children’s rights, and adherence to the law.

SPO2 Dela Cruz, an investigator, has earned recognition for defending women’s and children’s rights, making cases involving minors a staple of her agenda and bringing the offenders to justice.

The PNP is truly fortunate to have such gallant men and women that the Filipino people can be proud of.

Aviation NEWS By
Neha Jain
Aviation NEWS Reporter