All drones—whether for commercial or personal use—should be registered, CAAP insists

 

 

All unmanned aircraft vehicles (UAVs)—whether for commercial or personal use—should be certified under amended government rules, which are expected to be finalized within the first half of 2015, Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) officials said Friday.

 

"At the moment, we are planning to decrease the weight requirement on the registration of the UAVs," CAAP flight standards inspectorate service manager Capt. Efren Rocamora told reporters in a briefing in Pasay City.

 

"The rules are ongoing amendments, where we are supposed to classify what weight should be the limit," he noted.

 

In the original regulations, all UAVs or "drones" to be used for commercial purposes should be registered regardless of weight, the CAAP said in January.

 

The CAAP defines a Large UAV as an unmanned airship with an envelope capacity greater than 100 cubic meters; a Micro UAV means a UAV with a gross weight of 100 grams or less; and Small UAV means a UAV that is neither a large UAV nor a micro UAV.

 

So far, no one has registered with CAAP, deputy for operations Ret. Brig. Gen. Rodante Joya said in a briefing in the same briefing.

 

In urging drone owners, Joya noted that CAAP's principal purpose is in pursuit of security and safety.

 

"Ang ating objective ay magkasundo tayo doon sa mga operators, maski sports hobbyists, kasi ang concern lang natin is sila yung mga legit at responsible operators," he said.

 

"At least man lang alam natin na, kung sila ay responsible, ay responsible sila enough to accept the accountability that goes with it," he added.

 

Being one of the pilot countries to implement rules governing the use of drones, Rocamora said CAAP officials will head to Montreal, Canada to discuss among member states of International Civil Aviation Organization (IKAO) about the harmonization of regulations.

 

"This regulation is still in its infancy, that's why we have to craft more regulations," he said. ""We need to harmonize the regulations around the world."

 

ICAO is United Nations specialized agency, created in 1944 upon the signing of the Convention on International Civil Aviation. It works with 191 member states and global aviation organizations, according to its website.

 

Following the international symposium, Joya said CAAP sees the finalized rules for operating drones within the first half of the year.

 

"Right after symposium, craft na ang amendment. Once na nafinalized natin 'yon, ipe-present natin for approval ng deputy-general Capt. John Andrew," he said.

 

"Then we'll solicit the comments of others, at 'pag okay na, ipe-present ulit sa CAAP board, ang governing body ng CAAP," he said. "We're looking at first semester of the year [for the final rules]." — TJD, GMA News