The Philippine Star

Saturday, September 19, 1998

Businessmen See Harder Times with PAL's Closure (4)

By Edith Regalado

DAVAO CITY — Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Albero Fenix said here yesterday the country faces new difficulties when Philippine Airlines finally ends its operations on Sept. 23.

"We will be facing bigger problems now on top of the financial crunch that has been battering us since last year. This is really bad news,” Fenix said.

He stressed that the closure would not only affect PAL majority shareholder and Chairman Lucio Tan and its thousands of employees but also almost all sectors of the economy.

“PAL does not only transport people but also goods that make up our economy. We can just imagine how much it would affect the transportation industry. Everybody loses here," Fenix added.

However, Fenix expressed confidence the PAL labor crisis would still be resolved before the airline's scheduled closure next week with the mediation of Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma.

We would like to encourage all parties concerned to sit down one more time and see if there is a solution to avert the closure of PAL. We would like to see PAL continue operating. We have confidence in Secretary Laguesma, we think he is an impartial party acceptable by both groups," the PCCI President added.

Fenix said the business community also believes Tan has done his best in keeping the airline afloat since the strike staged by the pilots last June. "We cannot blame Mr. Tan. Do you expect him to keep on pumping money on something that is losing such as the PAL operations?" he asked.

The PCCI President, likewise, encouraged other players in the airline industry to start looking at the opportunities that may emerge out of the PAL situation.