Roxas rejects 'premature' calls for Abaya to resign

Administration standard bearer Manuel "Mar" Roxas II on Wednesday rejected as premature calls for Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya to resign from his post following the power outage at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport over the weekend.

In an interview with reporters in Oriental Mindoro, Roxas said such resignation calls should be based on facts established in a proper investigation.

"Itong mga panawagan na ito ay dapat batay sa kung anong kinalabasan ng imbestigasyon. Meron naman tayong proseso, so tignan natin, antayin natin kung ano talagang nangyari," he said.

"Mahirap na—hindi ko masasabi kung ano dahil hindi ko naman alam kung anong nangyari dun sa airport," Roxas added.

Abaya replaced Roxas at the helm of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) after the latter was appointed chief of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) following the death of then Secretary Jesse Robredo.

On Tuesday, vice presidential candidate Senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, Jr. asked for Abaya's resignation, saying the DOTC Secretary "has been the source of many problems."

"When he came in we had hoped we would be the one to rationalize his department but he has been a disappointment kasi walang maayos na nangyari,” Marcos said.

The senator added that he has long been calling for the resignation of Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) General Manager Jose Angel Honrado.

“I’ve been calling for his resignation for years. He does not know his job," he said.

The five-hour blackout hit Terminal 3 late on Saturday and power was not restored until before dawn on Sunday, prompting the cancellation of flights and leaving passengers stranded at the airport.

The MIAA said the power outage at the NAIA-3 happened after a substation of the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) tripped at around 8:45 p.m. Saturday.

Meralco, meanwhile, said that the glitch was restored in less than a minute. It said that the five-hour power outage could have been caused by "trouble on the customer's loadside." —KG/JST, GMA News