Urgent Aid for PAL, Cebu Pacific and Vaccination IDs

Posted on March 13, 2021

March 2, 2021: Today marks an important milestone for the Philippines, as Philippine Airlines delivers a combined 19,000 doses of COVID vaccines to the cities of Cebu and Davao. The airline’s dedicated cargo team, very own cold-storage facility and efficient handling produced a successful outcome. Flying for nearly 80 years, PAL continues its mission of service to country. #DutytoCountry #FlyPAL #FlySafePH
Photo Source:
Official PAL fb: https://www.facebook.com/PhilippineAirlines/

Written by

Jude Thaddeus L. Bautista

American Airlines CEO Doug Parker and President Robert Isom sent a letter to 13,000 employees shortly after Biden’s Covid Relief bill was voted on (signed in to law March 11). “To those who had received notices warning of furloughs: those are happily canceled– you can tear them up! If you see your local Congressional representative on a flight, be sure to thank her or him for their work this past year and for recognizing the noble work you all do every day,” From: nbcmiami.com

In an Instagram post Parker added, “Once signed into law, this bill will allow us to continue providing pay and benefits for our team through Sept. 30. #ThankYou to our union partners for continuing to advocate for their members and to lawmakers for understanding the essential role @AmericanAir and other airlines play in the recovery of our country. Doug_parker

March 5, 2021: Cebu Pacific safely carried the very first batch of COVID vaccines to Zamboanga and Tuguegarao today, March 05, 2021. A total of 21,000 doses were carried by CEB Cargo to everyJuan as we bring #MoreSmilesAhead
Photo from Cebu Pacific fb
https://www.facebook.com/cebupacificairphilippines

Functioning Government

Incidentally, I found out about the good news from The Rachel Maddow Show, among the top opinion shows on politics by one of the leading voices, just happens to be a woman. (Proud LGBTQ at that) Maddow was able to summarize the immediate effects of the 1.9 Trillion Covid Relief package and showed Parker’s letter (saving 13,000 jobs) as a direct result of the bill, among many others.

I couldn’t disagree with her assessment that this was the result of a truly functioning government sensitive to the needs of the people. This was in sharp contrast with the chaos of the Trump presidency.

This is only the most recent example of governments around the world scrambling to immediately assist their ailing airlines. Why? You may ask. Airlines are a vital transport infrastructure that cannot and should not be diminished most especially during a pandemic. How else are you going to distribute vaccines in the Philippine archipelago of 7,000 islands, the quickest and most efficient way possible?

Essential Role of Airlines

To this end, Philippine Airlines has already flown Sinovac’s Coronavac doses to Cebu and Davao. “At least 7,200 Sinovac doses were transported to Cebu via a Philippine Airlines flight…. Likewise, PAL delivered 12,000 doses of CoronaVac to Davao early Tuesday.” From CNN Philippines report dated March 2

Cebu Pacific is not far behind ‘carrying the first batch of 21,000 doses on March 05, 2021. This second batch comprises of around 32,000 doses (about 20,000 for Zamboanga and about 12,000 for Tuguegarao). The vaccines were stored in a refrigerated storage container and were handled with utmost precision to ensure its conditions are preserved up until its release at the local destinations. From Cebu Pacific Media Center report dated March 12, 2021

March 13, 2021: CEBU PACIFIC continues to safely transport vaccines across the Philippines, with its second batch of deliveries to Tuguegarao and Zamboanga this week.
These vaccines were handled with the highest precision to ensure they reach the destinations safely. CEB will continue to do its utmost in ensuring the successful rollout of the Philippines’ vaccination program. Learn more: bit.ly/CEB2ndVaccineDelivery
Fly safely, travel responsibly. Here’s to #MoreSmilesAhead with everyJuan!
Photo from Cebu Pacific fb
https://www.facebook.com/cebupacificairphilippines

Unfortunately, both Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific have yet to receive any form of financial assistance from our own government. No one in power here seems to ‘understand the essential role of airlines in the recovery of our country’ as Parker described. Since the pandemic hit last year, it has been disastrous for both airlines. Thousands of workers have already been laid off.

Lay- Offs

According to Phil Star: “Approximately 2,300” employees of the Tan-led airline are either being let go or offered voluntary separation packages, PAL said in a statement on Tuesday. The subjected employees will only be “employed until mid-March 2021.”….The Duterte administration had also rejected using taxpayers’ money to rescue failing firms during the crisis. Instead, state lenders were asked to extend cheap loans to struggling companies, aid which airlines had said were insufficient to assist their rebound. From Phil Star Feb 2, 2021.

March 5, 2021: Philippine Airlines carried out the second wave of airlifting vaccines to more cities in Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao. PAL is honored to be of service to the Philippines as the government and health care sectors fight the pandemic via a nationwide vaccination program. Photo Source:
Official PAL fb: https://www.facebook.com/PhilippineAirlines/

Cebu Pacific has also been struggling: “The Philippines’ largest budget carrier Cebu Air on Thursday said it is looking to raise $500 million to repair a balance sheet that has been hit by the coronavirus pandemic…”Let me point out that whatever assistance we have or we are going to provide will be only part of the entire process,” Finance Secretary Dominguez said during a business forum. “The private sector banks have to cough up the majority of the assistance.” From Nikkei Asia report dated October 8, 2020.

While Dominguez spoke about a partial assistance October of last year, neither airline has seen any of it either in soft loans or any other form by March 2021.

Photo from Cebu Pacific fb
https://www.facebook.com/cebupacificairphilippines

LT’s Faith

Nevertheless, Taipan Lucio Tan himself has dipped into his own resources ‘pouring P15.2 billion into Philippine Airlines, making it safe from immediate bankruptcy, according to PAL president Gilbert Santa Maria. Santa Maria told the ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC) on Thursday (May 21) that one-third of the capital infusion, or about P5 billion, was deployed this year to keep the airline afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has grounded air travel. From Inquirer.net, May 21, 2020

Lucio Tan’s cash infusion is evidence of his faith and belief in what PAL represents as flagship carrier for our country. The infusion was only expected to help PAL last so long. His personal wealth is still limited compared to what the government will be able to do in terms of accessing international loans etc. The main problem is the lack of foresight of economic managers who aren’t able to prioritize vital sectors of the economy.

Saving airlines doesn’t just mean saving thousands of jobs (in PAL and CEBU PACIFIC), obviously. You’re saving local tourism, the transport sector, hotel, restaurants and other related industries.

Test muna tayo bago travel, everyJuan! We want to make sure we’ll have #MoreSmilesAhead as we travel safely and confidently with Cebu Pacific.
If you’re travelling soon, here’s a guide on our Test Before Boarding (TBB) options, how, and where you can get tested before your flight!
For more information, visit https://bit.ly/CEBFlightReminders.
Photo from Cebu Pacific fb
https://www.facebook.com/cebupacificairphilippines

Vivienne Tan & Tessie Sy-Coson

In spite of the absence of financial assistance from government, in spite of its own humongous challenges, PAL has committed itself to fulfill its role in the distribution of vaccines. “PAL Pres. & COO Gilbert Santa Maria said, ‘We can carry these vaccines from continental locations to whatever airport in the Philippines that is most suitable”. He said they can fly from Spain to Cebu to carry Moderna vaccines direct to the Visayas and fly direct to Davao to bring vaccines there.”

“PAL, Santa Maria added, was also capable of carrying Astra Zeneca doses from Belgium because it is the only airline in the Philippines with the ultra-long-haul, wide-body aircraft. We have multiple options for aircraft. We can take the medium wide-body, the A330s. We can take our narrow body A320/A321s. We can also take our turboprop… The PAL team has been part of the cold chain logistics team organized by Secretary (Carlito) Galvez in the distribution of vaccines.” From ManilaTimes.net Feb 6, 2021.

PAL EVP & CAO Vivienne Tan is part of a world-wide trend of women leaders who stepped up during the Pandemic crisis

No surprise, among the top decision makers in PAL is Vivienne Tan. Together with Gilbert Santa Maria, they have been able to steer the airline to fulfill its mission in this crisis. Vivienne is one of many women in leadership roles praised for their quick response and sensitivity to the needs of people.

Tessie Sy Coson, also took the initiative to purchase Astra Zeneca vaccines en masse. This is made even more remarkable given the challenges and delays that the Phil government has had in their procurement. “The Philippines has secured a total of 17 million COVID-19 vaccine doses from British manufacturer AstraZeneca, so far, thanks to the efforts of the private sector and local government units (LGUs). On Thursday, January 14, representatives of around 300 companies and 39 LGUs held a ceremonial signing of the memorandum of agreement with AstraZeneca. The 17 million includes the 2.6 million doses secured by the private sector in November 2020, half of which would be donated to the government. Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr said the AstraZeneca doses would be for around 8 million people. In the briefing, Galvez thanked Teresita Sy Coson of SM Investments Corporation for making the deals possible.” From Rappler.com, Jan 14, 2021

SM Investments Co-Chair Teresita Sy Coson is part of a world-wide trend of women leaders who stepped up during the Pandemic crisis.

Women Leaders

Vivienne Tan and Tessie Sy Coson are a part of a growing trend of women who have stepped up during the COVID pandemic. A Forbes.com article states that the best COVID pandemic response have come from countries that are led by women Presidents or Prime Ministers.

The following lists their nation’s death tally (updated to first week of March 2021):

Country	Head of State	COVID Deaths
New Zealand	PM Jacinda Ardern	26
Taiwan	Pres. Tsai Ing Wen	10
Denmark	PM Mette Fredriksen	2,384
Norway	PM Erna Solberg	634
Iceland	PM Katrín Jakobsdóttir	29

From left: New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern (and right) Taiwan President Tsai Ing Wen are both a part of a world-wide trend of women leaders who stepped up during the Pandemic crisis.

Empathy, adherence to truth, scientific expertise and decisiveness are just some of the traits that these female leaders have in common. From Forbes.com What Do Countries With the Best Corona Virus Responses Have In Common? Women Leaders

Iceland

The good news is it’s not too late for the Philippine government to help the airline industry. IF they argue that we simply don’t have the resources other countries have to bail them out why not consider tax breaks? Or temporary Tax exemptions?

Iceland Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir is part of a world-wide trend of women leaders who stepped up during the Pandemic crisis.

The case of Iceland’s PM Katrín Jakobsdóttir could be of particular interest. Because they were the first country to issue an international Vaccine Passport to its citizens. Their PM is known for her creative thinking, using aggressive testing and quarantine efforts to control the virus. They also used an app to determine population movement versus hard lockdown measures.

I wouldn’t recommend an international vaccine passport for us yet but a vaccine certificate / card that allows domestic travel has its advantages. This is of course with the presumption that we already have an effective and quick vaccination program.

National Vaccination Card

The first advantage of a vaccination card requirement for domestic flights is an incentive for more Filipinos to get inoculated in the first place. As of last survey we only have less than 55% of Pinoys willing to take the jab (regardless of brand). That’s far less than the 80% required for herd immunity. The incentive is you can travel. With that the second advantage is, you’re traveling safer. When you get on a plane you know everyone has had their shot.

The vaccination card can have the name, ID photo, date and place of first and second doses, brand. It can have a digital component where a unique scan code is there to verify the data. Thing is the airlines will not be able to execute this on their own.

It has to be a national effort involving different agencies’ coordination from DILG, DOTr, DOT, airport authorities and DOH. What it needs is proper organizational planning and leadership. Since we are far from inoculating all our front liners, there’s still time to seriously plan and organize the vaccination card specifically for ‘ordinary’ citizens.

While it may also entail financial resources, it’s not to the tune of billions of dollars that the airline industry requires to be fully rehabilitated. BUT the effect in encouraging travel and making flights safer can go a long way.

The world has seen the decisiveness, the empathy, the urgency, the sensitivity to people’s needs of women leaders. The question is can our leaders in the Philippines exhibit those same traits to deliver urgently needed aid to the airlines? They still have the time and opportunity to do so.

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March 7, 2021:THIRD WAVE OF VACCINE AIRLIFT to Tacloban, Bacolod, Iloilo, Cebu, Tagbilaran, Butuan and Cotabato. For 80 years, Philippine Airlines has served the country through a world war, natural calamities and all kinds of crises. Your airline will continue to stand with the Filipino nation in fighting this pandemic. #DutytoCountry #HeartoftheFilipino #FlyPAL #FlySafePH
Photo Source:
Official PAL fb: https://www.facebook.com/PhilippineAirlines/