Representatives of a private Catholic school are now able to join an annual sports competition after online users supported them following the cancelation of their flight to the competition venue in Zamboanga.
Columban College student Neil Justine Angelio thanked Facebook users who called the attention of Cebu Pacific after he disclosed that he and his team could no longer represent their school and their region, Central Luzon, in the 2023 PRISAA National Games.
PRISAA stands for Private Schools Athletic Association.
The PRISAA National Games is a prestigious sporting event that brings together talented student athletes from private schools across 17 regions of the country to showcase their exceptional skills and foster healthy competition.
“I just want to say thank you and also sorry at the same time for disappointing those people who support us during our preparation for NATIONAL PRISAA in Zamboanga City this coming July 11-21, 2023,” Angelio wrote on Facebook on Monday, July 10.
The regional meet will be held from July 13 to 19 in Zamboanga City in Mindanao.
“We are not able anymore to represent our region (Region III) and our school (Columban College) at this kind of huge event this year due to the cancelations of flights from CEBU PACIFIC,” the student added in his post.
“Thank you po, sir Mike Sionzon, sa pag-training sa amin at sa paggabay araw-araw. Shout out, Cebu Pacific Air! Maraming pangarap at opportunity ang hindi matutupad at ma-ga-grab dahil sa inyo. See you next year,” Angelio said, tagging the account of the Gokongwei-owned airline.
The student’s Facebook post has earned 55,000 pure “sad” reactions, 3,400 comments and over 13,000 shares.
It also reached Twitter, where more Filipinos rallied behind Angelio and his teammates amid the flight cancelation issue.
“Sinayang [niyo] ang opportunity nila @CebuPacificAir, haunting kahihiyan naman,” a Twitter account wrote, tagging the budget airline’s account in the platform.
The tweet has amassed over 1,600 likes.
Sinayang nyo ang opportunity nila @CebuPacificAir kaunting kahihiyan naman pic.twitter.com/bSem0JYPvo
— ALTKapamilyaChannel (@AltKapamilyaCH) July 11, 2023
Facebook page GO Zambales, which is part of the news website GoPhilippines’ network, claimed that the budget carrier did not give any reason for the flight cancelation.
It added that Cebu Pacific allegedly presented the student-athletes July 17 as the only other option for a flight date, which is already in the middle of the sporting event.
“Naiproseso na nang paaralan noong May 16 pa lamang ang nasabing flight na mayroong full payment at may full-detailed plan na mula sa Cebu Pacific,” the page claimed.
“Ayon sa CCI administration, gumawa sila umano ng iba pang paraan upang makapunta sa Zamboanga ngunit fully-booked na rin iba pang air at sea transportation sa nasabing araw,” it added.
Happy development
By Tuesday, Angelio happily shared that he and his teammates are now able to fly to Zamboanga following online Pinoys’ support.
“JUST IN!!! Maraming salamat po sa lahat ng mga taong nag-share at nag-spread ng awareness para mapansin ng Cebu Pacific Air (red heart emoji),” he said on July 11.
“Kami po ay matutuloy na papunta sa Zamboanga dahil binigyan po kami ng pansin ng Cebu Pac [Pacific] at napagkaloob na bigyan ng flight na exclusive para sa aming athlete (red heart and raised hands emojis) Maraming [s]alamat po! Thank you, Lord!” the student added.
Controversial budget airline
The budget airline was probed by a Senate panel two weeks ago following “numerous passenger complaints” about issues with overbooking, offloading and glitches in booking flights online.
Overbooking is an airline industry strategy in which airlines sell more tickets than the aircraft can accommodate to ensure that they have no empty seats when the plane takes off.
The strategy also helps airlines guarantee that their seats will be filled to capacity, allowing them to keep tickets cheap.
However, Sen. Grace Poe previously said that while overbooking is an industry practice, “systematic delays and cancelations are not.”
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According to reports, Cebu Pacific said that the issues were “primarily driven by fleet availability issues” felt by the global aviation industry “along with specific environmental factors.”
The airline said it has already established a disruption management team, reduced its flight schedule, and increased its standby aircraft.
“We understand that these mitigating actions may still seem insufficient for our affected passengers. We assure you that we are actively managing the situation and determining how we can assist affected passengers,” it said last month.
Cebu Pacific also attributed issues of forced rebooking to its site’s design. It said it would be fixed by the end of July.
A resolution was also filed in the House of Representatives which seeks to temporarily suspend the budget airline’s franchise in response to the deluge of passenger flight cancelations and other issues.
In response, the airline said it had taken serious steps following the Senate probe about the passenger complaints and is “currently in the process of implementing various measures in support of our passengers” as of June 26.
