By NITZ ARANCON
Correspondent
OFFICIALS of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Caap) and Cebu Pacific are facing a congressional investigation after the city council asked the Lower House to look into a physician’s rant over how an infant’s life was allegedly endangered at the Laguindingan Airport in Misamis Oriental late last month.
Councilor Lourdes Darimbang said the city council unanimously approved a resolution urging Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. to start a congressional inquiry into the alleged “heartless” treatment that placed the life of a six-day-old infant, suffering from congenital heart disease, in danger.
The resolution was passed after Darimbang brought to the city council’s attention pediatric cardiologist Josephine dela Cerna’s Facebook post about her harrowing experience at the airport in Sept. 26.
Darimbang said Dr. dela Cerna and the infant’s father were bringing the baby to Manila for an emergency cardiac surgery, but at the Laguindingan Airport, the Cebu Pacific staff allegedly told them that the oxygen cylinder they had with them cannot be allowed in the plane.
According to Darimbang, the baby’s father was forced to go back to the city to look for an electric oxygen concentrator which the airline allowed.
“When we were about to board the plane, the crew of Cebu Pacific told us that we (cannot) bring an oxygen cylinder inside the plane and replace it with an electric oxygen concentrator. The father complained that he was just advised to bring a portable O2 so naturally he bought the 7K portable cylinder. But since the father wanted so much to bring his child to Manila for surgery, he went back to the hospital in CDO to look for the electric oxygen concentrator. We were waiting at the breastfeeding room when the plane already left… The father came with the oxygen concentrator relieved that we are finally going to Manila. When we tried to plug in the device in the aircraft, the outlet was 120V! The father was so disappointed that no one in the crew told him that the outlet was 120V,” Darimbang quoted dela Cerna’s post on her Facebook wall that has since gone viral.
Darimbang said the city council would also conduct its own investigation into the matter.
The infant has reportedly undergone surgery in Manila.
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