The Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) is being urged to investigate alleged irregularities into the P1.5-trillion public-private partnership (PPP) for the modernization of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

Several groups of NAIA workers wrote an open letter to the ICI, where they called on the body "to initiate a full, independent, and transparent investigation" as they cited five alleged irregularities in the modernization process.

The letter was signed by Pagkakaisa ng mga Users, Stakeholders at Obrero ng NAIA (PUSO) head secretariat Romeo Sauler and Samahan ng mga Manggagawa ng Paliparan sa Pilipinas Gilbert Bagtas.

In the letter, they claimed that the following irregularities were in procedural irregularities, contractual provisions favoring the concessionaire, conflicts of interest and abuse of influence, premature implementation and lack of oversight, and irregularities in bidding and transparency.

The workers alleged that the concession agreement exposed "serious lapses in public consultation, disclosure, and regulatory oversight".

They believed that "the opaque decision-making process suggests that the project may have been pushed through without genuine public participation or accountability."

They also said that "certain sections of the agreement (notably 24.3.2, 24.5, 24.5.1, 27.1.3, and 31) apparently allow the Concessionaire to impose 'Non-Regulated Fees', granting it near-unchecked power to raise charges without government approval".

"This provision contradicts public policy and effectively transfers regulatory authority to a private corporation. It risks excessive financial burden on passengers and airlines while eroding state control over a critical public facility," they added.

The workers also expressed doubt over the bidding and the approval process since the former Department of Transportation (DOTr) heads who, at some point, took part supposedly had professional and business ties with the concessionaire.

"This overlap constitutes a prima facie conflict of interest and raises serious questions," they said.

They also cited reports that indicate that the project activities started even "before engaging the required Independent Consultant", which they alleged to be "a clear violation of the concession agreement".

"This failure removes an essential safeguard for technical validation and financial accountability, exposing the project to unverified costs and unchecked execution," the workers said in their letter.

The concessionaires' bid was also, as the workers said, "reportedly far higher than competing offers". This, they said, was "an anomaly echoing patterns of rigged or non-competitive bidding".

"Combined with redacted contract disclosures and limited stakeholder consultation, the process appears to have lacked the transparency and fairness required under the PPP framework," they said.

The workers then called on ICI to conduct a full investigation into the NAIA-PPP deal and related administrative issuance, examine all public officials involved for possible violations of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, and Audit the rate-setting mechanisms and the legality of “Non-Regulated Fees".

They also wanted the ICI to "suspend implementation activities until an Independent Consultant is properly engaged" and  "recommend appropriate remedial measures, including contract revision or cancellation, should corruption or bad faith be established".