No one is above accountability for the systems glitch that hit the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) on New Year’s Day, Sen. Grace Poe said on Thursday, March 9.
Poe, chairman of the Senate public services committee, emphasized that whether past or present administration, she would make sure they face the consequences.
“Evidently, the glitch and the systems failure were caused by the inaction and lack of foresight of CAAP (Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines) leadership and the consequent lack of support from Department of Transportation (DOTr) at the time the compulsory back up systems were requested,” she said.
“CAAP, as the one ultimately in-charge, should have known better,” she pointed out.
Poe said she would not allow CAAP to get away with just a slap on the wrist.
“However, I also need to consider and ensure its day-to-day operations are not crippled due to the investigations,” she explained.
“Because of the pandemic and the lack of prioritization by both CAAP and DOTr, we still had no functional back-up when the incident occurred last January,” Poe said.
“These are only a few of numerous factors that could have spelled a different outcome. Congress never even had the chance to act on any request because none was ever raised. Ultimately, all of these are judgement calls of the past heads of both DoTr and CAAP for which they must answer,” she added.
Poe said there is still accountability to be exacted but to focus only on such would make this into another political circus that is counterproductive to Philippine air safety efforts.
“To turn this solely into a witch hunt would further drive away the decreasing number of technical air personnel that chose to stay in the country to serve,” she pointed out.