Senator Grace Poe on Sunday, January 15, urged Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) director general Manuel Antonio Tamayo to inhibit from the ongoing investigation on the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) air traffic fiasco.
Poe said doing so would ensure an impartial scrutiny of the incident as CAAP cannot be investigating itself.
“I hope an independent body will be formed to look into the incident and definitely, Captain Tamayo cannot sit there and all those under him,” Poe said in an interview on Radio DZBB.
“I trust (Department of Transportation) Secretary Jaime Bautista, he has been part of the private sector for a long time, very respected. Maybe it’s time to appoint an independent body that can conduct an impartial investigation,” Poe further said.
Among the personalities who can be included in the independent body that would look into the system glitch that hit the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) on New Year’s Day is former CAAP director general William Hotchkiss.
The independent body can also ask a representative from the country’s association of civil aviation engineers to be part of the probe.
During the hearing of the Senate Committee on Public Services last Thursday, January 12, CAAP said it has launched an internal investigation into the New Year’s Day technical glitch.
But when asked if the CAAP head should resign or take a leave, Poe said that the fate of Tamayo is up to the DOTr chief.
“But maybe someone else can be appointed first who will be really good at managing CAAP while we investigate it,” the senator said.
As of now, Poe said the panel could not yet make a conclusion on the fiasco.
She said she may heed other lawmakers’ suggestion to hold an executive session when session resumes on January 23.