If the disastrous New Year flight cancellations at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) showed anything, it's that the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) had been wearing too many hats.
Senior Deputy Minority Leader and Northern Samar 1st district Rep. Paul Daza gave this take Wednesday, Jan. 4, in the aftermath of the power outage suffered by the Air Traffic Management Center (ATMC) of CAAP on Jan. 1 that either cancelled, delayed, or diverted over 300 flights.
“The recent fiasco at the NAIA clearly signals the need to separate the regulatory and commercial functions of the ," Daza said.
“We are assured that an investigation is already being done, however that is also problematic because it’s the same agency investigating its own,” the solon noted.
CAAP was created via Republic Act (RA) No.9497 or An Act Creating the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, Authorizing the Appropriation of Funds Therefor, and for Other Purposes. Its functions include both commercial and regulatory functions, potentially creating conflict of interests according to Daza.
“Many have already spoken and, most likely, everyone is right. There seems to be negligence but the more critical question is, ‘How can we ensure objectivity in the investigation if CAAP is the one investigating itself?'" he asked.
Section 21 of RA No.9497 stipulates that CAAP is tasked with both the “development and utilization of the air potential of the Philippines” and “regulation of air transportation”. It also enjoys fiscal autonomy (Section 15) and exemption from taxes, customs, and tariff duties in the importation of equipment, machineries, and other materials.
“We could no longer afford another similar incident; thousands of lives had been put at risk and will be put at risk if this should ever happen again,” Daza warned.
Over 65,000 passengers were affected by the technical glitch at NAIA--the Philippines' main gateway.
Daza further said that reforming the CAAP will require filing of certain bills to ultimately and officially decouple the regulatory and developmental functions of the agency.
“The CAAP must be enhanced to focus on being a regulatory body, while two other operational and independent investigative agencies must be created to perform the mentioned functions," he said.
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https://mb.com.ph/2023/01/03/solon-worried-that-ofws-sidelined-by-naia-crisis-might-get-fired/
Daza also called on his colleagues in the House of Representatives to hold a joint investigation along with the Senate to get clear answers. Section 91 of RA No.9497 stipulates the oversight functions by both houses of Congress.
“The government needs to create an impartial body that will conduct an investigation on what really happened—this body should not be within CAAP,” Daza stressed. He also recommended the immediate review and possibly amendment of RA No.9497.
The Philippines’ Communications, Navigation and Surveillance Systems for Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM) system is a P10.8-billion project financed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). It was completed in October 2017.
CAAP’s Aerodrome and Air Navigation Safety Oversight Office was assigned to investigate the incident.