The Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) is urging the Pasay City local government unit (LGU) to intervene in addressing what it describes as safety and security risks that the Philippine Village Hotel (PVH) poses to the operations of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).
In a letter to Pasay City Mayor Imelda Calixto-Rubiano on June 20, MIAA Officer-in-Charge Bryan Andersen Co said the building poses significant safety and security issue especially at the NAIA Terminal 2 and the 250th Presidential Airlift Wing.
"The PVH’s abandoned state has increasingly compromised the building’s security, making it susceptible to trespassing, vandalism, and other criminal activities…[including] the possibility of terrorist activities being planned or executed from within the structure” which would jeopardize the operations of the airport complex," said Co in the letter.
Although it has not been operational since 2001, the dilapidated hotel structure still stands within the land of MIAA which was transferred from Nayong Pilipino Foundation by virtue of EO 58 issued last September 29, 2011.
He cited two past incidents when MIAA personnel and equipment sent to put out fires in the PVH area were barred entry, the first was on Nov. 20, 2021, when MIAA firetrucks were allegedly denied entry to respond to a basement fire in PVH.
Co then requested that MIAA be allowed to secure the PVH area, not only from criminal elements, but also from natural and manmade disasters.
He also appealed to Rubiano to conduct a comprehensive structural assessment on the hotel to determine its level of risk for structural failure, collapse, and damage which may warrant its demolition.
"The recent earthquake that was felt in Metro Manila last June 15 also highlights the urgency of the engineering assessment due to its proximity to the passenger terminal and aircraft movement areas," the MIAA statement read.
"This poses what MIAA describes as grave threats that could be mitigated with the help of the Pasay City LGU to ensure the safety and security of the airport complex, all those associated with its operations, and the general public," it added.