Think tank, passenger group call out DOTr for NAIA rehab delay, 'blunder'

Think tank Infrawatch Philippines and commuter group urged the Department of Transportation to improve its policy directions and pace in rehabilitating the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

“The DOTr should not now drop the ball in the airport sector, given the delay in NAIA rehabilitation,” Infrawatch's Terry Ridon said in a statement on Sunday.

“Ang kailangan po rito, decisive action at pagtutulungan ng publiko at ng mga ahensya ng gobyerno. The rehabilitation plan has been delayed far too long,” he added.

Citing a recent communication between Investment Coordination Committee (ICC) heads Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez and NEDA Acting Secretary Karl Chua to DOTr Secretary Arthur Tugade regarding the NAIA rehabilitation project, Ridon pointed out a "misunderstanding."

In a press conference,  Ridon said the DOTr made a mistake when it insisted that equity requirements only relate to the initial project phase, and not to the entire project cost of P107 billion.

“The agency should nonetheless be allowed to correct this mistake and ensure the correct debt-equity ratio based on the rehab’s entire project cost,” said Ridon.

According to him, ICC heads also made a mistake in quoting implementing regulations of the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) Law as the basis for insisting on the specific debt-equity ratio of 70:30.

Ridon said, both law and regulations did not mention such ratio.

“We have reviewed all relevant laws and regulations relating to deb-equity ratio requirements for PPPs [Public-Private Partnerships], and there is no mention of a specific ratio to be undertaken for airport projects,” he said.

“In fact, the provision quoted by Secretaries Dominguez and Chua leaves the determination of the proper debt-equity ratio to the specific agency concerned,” he added.

Ridon said that this issue will drag NAIA’s rehabilitation beyond the term of President Rodrigo Duterte.

Thus, he urged the various departments to work together to solve the matter and fast-track the NAIA rehabilitation project.

“There is no better time to undertake needed rehabilitation work than now, given reduced passenger volume due to the coronavirus crisis,” he pointed out.

Commuter group The Passenger Forum (TPF) also urged the DOTr, NEDA, and the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) to update the public if the rehabilitation plan will still continue.

“This is the best time to rehabilitate NAIA while there is less air traffic due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said TPF convenor Primo Morillo.

“What happened to the proposal? Ano na? Anyare? Also, we would like to get an explanation from private proponent regarding delays in its project approval. What is taking you so long for the project to proceed?”

Morillo underscored that the rehabilitation is urgently needed as NAIA is operating beyond its capacity, which, he said,  is the reason for many passenger problems and inconveniences such as long lines, flight delays, and even the lack of resting areas.

“While NAIA is not ranked as the world’s worst airport anymore, a survey in November 2019 declared NAIA as the worst airport for delays,” Morillo said.

“Another survey, conducted by the website Sleeping in Airports in 2017, learned that passengers consider NAIA as the sixth worst airport for layovers” he added.

According to Morillo, the passengers will be the most affected by the possible failure in the rehabilitation of the airport. —LBG, GMA News