House think tank backs pocket open skies policy

The House of Representatives’ think tank is recommending the implementation of a pocket open skies policy with respect to the country’s secondary gateways. In a policy paper titled "Promoting a Pocket Open Skies Policy for RP: Expanding Economic Opportunities for Filipinos", the Congressional Planning and Budget Department (CPBD) said the move would enhance access to the country’s world-class tourist destinations. The study is in line with 18 measures the House Secretariat — of which the CPBD is part — has listed as necessary to promote trade and competition. Open skies refers to either a bilateral or multilateral air transport agreement which liberalizes the rules and minimizes government intervention. "Open skies is as important as putting place a seamless infrastructure network — roads and bridges, adequate power and water supply, and efficient information and communication technology facilities, to strategic tourism areas," CPBD Director General Rodolfo C. Vicerra said in a statement. The policy, the CPBD said, should be implemented in the secondary gateways of Clark, Cebu, Davao, Iloilo, Poro Point, and Subic. Southeast Asia Airlines (SEAIR) president Avelino L. Zapanta welcomed the CPBD proposal, saying any liberalization effort would benefit the aviation industry. "Laws on the aviation industry should be responsive and proactive. That’s the way to do it," Mr. Zapanta said in a telephone interview. He also said a bilateral agreement would be ideal as long as it is not expensive to implement. "But if a unilateral agreement will be adapted, it must include a provision that permits the country to share the same rights when it is ready," Mr. Zapanta added. The study noted success stories in Cambodia and the European Union (EU) where deregulated international air transport yielded substantial economic and jobs growth. Cambodia in 1999 unilaterally allowed unlimited air access to Siem Reap, home of Angkor Wat. This led to a significant increase in tourist arrivals in Cambodia to 1.5 million in 2006 from 24,000 in 1999. The study also cited the EU’s dramatically increased intra-European air travel, up 33% in 2003 from a previous 4%. In the Philippines, the issuance of Executive Orders (EO) 253 and 500 early last year granted unilateral air rights to foreign carriers operating at the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) in Pampanga and the Subic Bay International Airport in Zambales. "The change in air policies has revived the once dormant and underused international airports, as well as reinvigorated the lethargic business activity in Clark and Subic," the study said. But it noted that policy reversals, such as the issuance of EO 500-A that withdrew the 5th freedom — the right of an airline of one country to carry traffic between two countries outside of its own country — "have adversely affected the operations and future investment decisions." Civil and Aeronautics Board (CAB) executive Carmelo L. Arcilla said that in pushing for the issuance of EO 500-B that would amend 500-A, a pocket open skies policy would not be difficult to realize. "The liberalization of air space in the said areas will smoothly proceed its pace," Mr. Arcilla said in a telephone interview. - Marie Jeanette P. Cordero/BusinessWorld