Note that this article was written in 2008. Two years ago. Cebu Pacific has done a lot to improve their on-time performance since then. Sure delays still happen but they are nowhere near as bad as before. The idiots running operations back then thought low fares were a valid excuse for poor service. Well, their heads were placed on the chopping block and they were replaced in late 2008. As a matter of fact, one of those idiots is now a consultant for a rival airline.
In 2008 I was severely disappointed by 5J's performance, but now I can reliably plan a business trip or vacation around a 5J flight. Can and have.
They may still have some issues with their service (especially the ground staff), but the most grinding issue of perennially delayed flights seems to be a thing of the past.
I've taken 5J a dozen times this year and the only delay I ever experienced was the time when the Manila Airport VOR was out of service. That time, ALL airlines experienced severe delays. That was beyond the airline's control. That time, I was lucky that my flight was only delayed an hour.
Just today, I took a flight to Manila. We left the gate 15 minutes early and arrived on time. Air traffic in Manila was heavy (the pilot told me we were number 9 in the landing sequence) but because we had the 15 minute buffer we weren't delayed.