Piatco blamed for high terminal fee in NAIA 3

It was the Philippine International Air Terminals Co. (Piatco) that sought the increase in the passenger terminal fee from P500 to $20 (P1,034 at the current exchange rate) and proposed to give the government a 36-percent share in exchange for several concessions.

This was revealed last Friday by Presidential Adviser for Strategic Projects Gloria Tan Climaco at the resumption of the Senate hearing on the controversial Piatco contract for the construction of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3.

Climaco stressed that contrary to Piatco’s claim, the government did not ask for a 36-percent share per passenger in the terminal fee because of the concessions being asked by Piatco in exchange for it. She said, as a matter of fact, the government has not approved Piatco’s proposal.

"In 1999, Piatco sought to change further the 1998 Amended and Restated Concession Agreement (ARCA) by proposing to give the government 36 percent (or $7.84) of the $20 terminal fee but in return it is asking the government to assume 10 more obligations," she said.

She said the government did not agree to Piatco’s move because the 10 obligations will cost it (government) another P9.4 billion. "And any violation of these obligations is a cause for default," she added.

Climaco said Piatco misled the public by claiming that it was the government that insisted charging an additional $7.84 in the terminal fee representing the government’s share.

Piatco also misled the public when it claimed that the government has no investments in the Terminal 3 project.

So far, the government has already spent P851 million in connection with the project by constructing overpasses, elevated expressway and roads, and has to spend another P9.6 billion for other infrastructure developments, Climaco said.

Included in this amount is the P199 million storm drainage improvement project which the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) has to undertake because Piatco made an error in its estimates in the engineering design for Terminal 3.

Because of Piatco’s error in the tender design on its storm drainage system, some portions of the NAIA complex and nearby barangays in Pasay City are flooding. MIAA is constrained to advance P199 million to alter its storm drainage system to address the flooding and prevent accidents in the NAIA complex.

It was learned that Piatco deducted P120 million from the annual guaranteed payment share of the government for the year 2000 for subterranean work on the basis of the first supplement and second supplement to the ARCA, both of which do not bear the approval of the National Economic Development Authority-Investment Coordination Committee and are therefore invalid.

Piatco also deducted P186 million from government’s annual guaranteed payment to reimburse itself for government’s share in the fee of the quality assurance inspector for the construction phase of the project.

Likewise, MIAA has to pay Nayong Pilipino P500 million for an additional 8.6 hectares required by Piatco for the airport’s surface road and its second west parallel taxiway. It will cost MIAA at least P1 million to clear the site.