Tagle loses luggage

MANILA Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle was dismayed after he discovered that his  luggage had gone missing when he arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) on April 9.

Cardinal Tagle arrived in NAIA Terminal 3 onboard the Cathay Pacific flight CX-901 from Spain via Canada and Hong Kong at around 10:00 a.m. but discovered that his luggage was gone.

The cardinal waited for almost one hour for the luggage in the VIP room with NAIA chaplain Msgr. Modesto Teston.

An airline staff member who refused to be named clarified that the luggage of the cardinal was not stolen in the NAIA terminal.

He said  it was possible that the cardinal’s bag was left behind in Hong Kong and was not loaded when he transferred to another aircraft for his flight bound for Manila.

The airline staff said Tagle flew from Spain to Canada, where he transferred to a Cathay Pacific flight bound for Manila via Hong Kong.

The cardinal said he is praying for the recovery of his luggage because it contained “some very important personal things.”

The cardinal was advised to file a formal complaint  with  the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) so it could  conduct an investigation on the incident.

The cardinal is a frequent traveler abroad because he is a sought-after speaker in Catholic events around the globe.

His profile in global Catholicism also increased after Pope Francis named him as the head of Caritas International, which groups the Roman Catholic Church 165, relief, development, and social services organizations around the world.

Some church analysts have also pointed to Tagle as a possible successor of Pope Francis who could continue the  Catholic church head’s reforms.

The loss of the luggage of the cardinal, the pre-eminent churchman in predominantly Catholic Philippines, comes at a bad time for the MIAA.

The airport authority is already feeling the heat from an angry public after a power failure hit NAIA Terminal 3 on April 2 and stranded thousands of passengers in the dark before power could be restored five hours later.

There were also calls for MIAA chief Jose Honrado to resign after overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) fell victim to the “laglag-bala scam” in the same airport last year.