FPJ Panday Bayanihan Party-list Rep. Brian Poe is prodding the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) to do something about the hefty terminal fees being imposed on airport passengers.

The costly terminal fees was Poe's sole negative comment in his interpellation of MIAA during the Department of Transportation's (DOTr) budget briefing on Thursday, Sept. 4.

Despite all the improvements made to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) that MIAA operates, he says the terminal fees prove to be an excessive burden on passengers.

“In just a few months, we’ve already seen significant progress—the demolition of the old hotel building to make way for Terminal 5, the introduction of new shuttle services, and the creation of an OFW lounge and dedicated immigration desks. These improvements show a real commitment to providing better service for our travelers,” Poe said.

He noted that these upgrades came with steep fee hikes. Domestic terminal fees are now at ₱390, while international terminal fees have jumped from ₱550 to ₱950.

“While facilities improve, our people continue to feel the weight of higher costs.today Modernization should not come at the expense of affordability. The gains we celebrate will lose their value if ordinary Filipinos are priced out of them,” Poe, vice chairman of the Committee on Appropriations, noted.

Acting DOTr Secretary Giovanni Lopez confirmed that terminal fee revenues are shared, with 82 percent remitted directly to the national treasury. Poe argued that this provides an opportunity for the government to use part of those revenues to subsidize passenger fees.

“If the government already receives the majority of the revenues, then why not return a portion to the people? Redirecting some of those funds to subsidize terminal fees would allow modernization to truly benefit everyone, not just the few,” said the "House Hotshots" member.

Poe concluded with a reminder to the agency that transportation policy impacts every Filipino.

“Every DOTr decision reaches the grassroots. Let’s make sure that our people feel these changes not only through better facilities but also through fairer, more affordable costs. That is how modernization becomes meaningful,” he said.