“Hindi pa tapos ang NAIA saga.”
Days after bed bugs and a rat were spotted at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, another rodent was seen running amok in the departures area of one of its terminals.
TikTok user Je Cano uploaded a clip of a huge rat he saw scurrying on the floor near a boarding gate of the departure area of NAIA Terminal 3.
ABS-CBN News reported that it happened past midnight on Tuesday, March 5.
“Hahaha! Akala ko tuloy may pa surprise si @Air Asia Philippines kasi dami sumigaw. ‘Yun pala may (rat emoji),” Cano said in his caption.
“So hindi siya urban legend sa NAIA T3 [Terminal 3],” he wrote in a text within the video.
@hashira.je Hahaha! Akala ko tuloy may pa surprise si @Air Asia Philippines 🇵🇭 kasi dami sumigaw. Yun pala may 🐀 #tiktok #fypシ #fyp #fypシ゚viral #fypage #daily #trendingvideo #viral #Today #ShotOniPhone #foryourpage #NAIA #rat #viralvideo #viraltiktok ♬ original sound – Je
Before that, passengers shared their experience of seeing a cockroach crawling on one of the chairs in the departure area of NAIA Terminal 3. The video was posted on social media on March 1.
One of the passengers said they had checked the chairs to see if there were bed bugs, given the recent infestation.
They were greeted with a cockroach instead. They said they weren’t able to sleep after.
Another video also went viral before, which featured a rat scurrying overhead the light fixture in the international departure area of NAIA Terminal 3.
Last month, at least two passengers experienced skin problems after being bitten by bed bugs from the airport’s rattan and steel chairs.
RELATED: From bed bugs to rats: Video of rat scurrying in NAIA 3 goes viral | #SurotSerye: NAIA asked to disinfect amid bed bug bites complaints
Reports said Eric Ines, head of the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA), has begun to crack down on sanitation service contractors after the recent sightings of pests on the country’s main gateway.
He has tasked terminal administration groups to monitor contractors and evaluate whether the current housekeeping and pest control standard operating procedures were enough, among others.
A House resolution was also recently filed, seeking to investigate the issues affecting the airport.
“Given the repeated problems at the NAIA and its tag as ‘one of the world’s worst airports,’ we have to look into the compounded issues, more so since NAIA has revenues to address basic operational concerns such as sanitation and congestion,” Rep. Marissa Magsino (OFW party-list) said.
“Our country’s image as a tourism destination is damaged due to the repetitive issues at the NAIA,” she added.
Magsino said the House resolution emphasizes the significant role of NAIA in labor migration as air transport plays a crucial role in migration corridors between a labor-sending country such as the Philippines and the host country.
