Man of the Year: Alexander S. Cuguiran

AS 2017 turned out, the unfolding story of the Clark International Airport may well be timelined B.C. and C.E. Not of the Christ-centric old, and the all-too-secular new, dating systems though. But one oriented in Alexander Sangalang Cauguiran, president-CEO of the Clark International Airport Corp.

Simply put, Before Cauguiran – for well over a decade – the Clark airport was at best a long-held promise epically failing short at every try of delivery.

Flights were a matter of coming and going, and going, going, unreturning. Destinations, both domestic and international opened, and just as quickly closed. Locally, Cebu City made the only entry in the Clark flight board. Cebu Pacific and Aseana, the only mainstay airlines, later joined in by Cathay Dragon and Jin Air.  

Nowhere though was the shattered showcase of promises for the Clark airport more manifest than in its terminal. As presidents – of the Republic and CIAC – came and went, so did the grandiose plans – more schemed than mastered, all never implemented – to build the airport terminal.

Arroyo

In the incumbency of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, came first the P3-billion Terminal 2 to be jointly funded by the Manila International Airport Authority, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., and the Bureau of Immigration, among other agencies.

Next came the $1.2-billion proposal from ALMAL Investments Co., a subsidiary of the Kuwaiti mega developer M.A. Kharafi Projects, to build not one but three airport terminals.

Thereafter followed a group of major government-linked and private firms in Malaysia called Bristeel Overseas Ventures, Inc. (BOVI) offering to infuse at least $150 million in foreign direct investment for the terminal.

Deemed by the CIAC Board as “superior” to the BOVI offer, the proposal of the Philco Aero Inc. came to consideration,

At the close of her presidency – three days before she stepped down – all that Macapagal-Arroyo managed to inaugurate was a refurbished terminal with two airbridges that have since been more idle than used.  

Aquino

Two years into the presidency of Benigno S. Aquino III, CIAC signed a P1-billion loan facility with Land Bank of the Philippines for what it said was the Phase II expansion of the passenger terminal and other support infrastructure of the CIA, including navigational equipment.

Shortly thereafter, CIAC announced it was seeking some P8 billion for a low-cost carrier terminal, soon after upgraded to P12 million.

Then, in October 2013 CIAC said the construction of the proposed P7.2-billion budget terminal at the Clark airport would likely start in the second quarter of 2014 and is expected to be completed by the second quarter of 2016.

No groundbreaking, much less any completing of any Clark airport terminal to the final minute of the BS’ toehold on the presidential office.

Cauguiran Era

Himself afflicted with this “terminal fever,” having served as CIAC executive vice president at the time of Arroyo, it was indeed incumbent upon Cauguiran – on the very day he assumed office in August 2016 – to immediately serve notice of his express priority to pursue the construction of the low-cost carrier passenger terminal as designed by Aeroport de Paris.

(Made possible through a grant from the French government, the Aeroport de Paris design was shot down by the Aquino administration for being “too grand” for Clark, recommending its re-design at a projected cost of P500 million.) 

As it was an imperative for the new CIAC chief too: “President Duterte’s order to the airline companies to transfer flights from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport to Clark is firm. It is final, knowing his style in leadership. We are anticipating growth and we must prepare for it.”

And the flights did indeed come – in droves. From a measly seven – Before Cauguiran – there are today 420 flights weekly, servicing 20 domestic destinations spread throughout the archipelago – Bacolod, Bagabag, Balesin, Basco, Busuanga, Calbayog, Cagayan de Oro, Catanduanes, Caticlan, Cebu, Davao, El Nido, Iloilo, Kalibo, Masbate, Naga, Puerto Princesa, Tacloban, Tagbilaran and Virac – and nine international destinations – Dubai, Hong Kong, Incheon, Busan, Macau, Pudong (China), Qatar and Singapore, with Osaka coming this March.

Sans direct service to Europe and North America as yet, Clark has been linked to these continents via the main hubs of Emirates, Qatar, Cathay Dragon, Asiana and China Eastern for passenger transit.      

Unarguably, it was subsequent to Cauguiran’s assuming the CIAC presidency, if not consequent to Duterte’s order, that the Philippine Airlines, Philippines Air Asia, Air Swift, China Eastern and Jetstar Airways homed in Clark.

By the end of 2017 – the first full 16 months of the Cauguiran Era – Clark had recorded 103 percent increase in aircraft movement at 12,620 and 59 percent rise in passenger traffic at 1,514,531 passengers, surpassing the previous highest figure of 1,315,757 recorded in 2012.

In terms of total revenues, CIAC recorded in 2017 an impressive 21 percent increase totaling to P814.14 million as compared its take in the previous year.

For the period of January-December 2017, CIAC generated a total net income of P174.93 million or a 126 percent increase, as well as an EBITDA (earnings before taxes, interests, taxes, depreciation and amortization) of P357.84 million translating to a 32 percent growth as compared to 2016.

A creditor’s delight too – CIAC has no incurrence of penalty charges on the delayed payments or settlement of loan amortizations and interest payments to Philippine Veterans Bank and Land Bank of the Philippines.

Terminal, finally

Far from the low-cost carrier terminal that Cauguiran has always sought to pursue since his EVP days – indeed, a core issue of his Move Clark Now advocacy from the late 1990s to his championing ADAPT (Advocacy for Dual Airport Policy) in the recent years – what evolved is a massive P9.36-billion expansion project of the Clark International Airport.

And – unlike all those terminal dreams of BOVI, Philco Aero, ALMAL, et al of the Arroyo and Aquino administrations -- there is neither delaying nor denying Clark of its rightful terminal this time.

Soon as ground was ceremoniously broken by the honorable men and women of the national and local governments, backhoes and bulldozzers commenced construction targeted to finish by the first quarter of 2020.

Aye, the long-held Clark promise as the country’s premier international airport finally being delivered now. Only to spawn a bigger promise – as Asia’s next premier gateway.  

However, whatever that dream may come, Clark has taken its rightful niche in the aviation sky. And all it took for that to come to fulfilment is the incumbency – the grit and sagacity, naturally – of Alexander S. Cauguiran.