Airport workers decry exclusion from NAIA-3 talks

Airport workers decried yesterday their exclusion from ongoing discussions to come up with a "win-win formula" for the controversial Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 project.

Ed Oredina, secretary-general of the Scrap the Piatco Deal Coalition (Scrap), said airport workers are not being consulted by the government in its efforts to resolve the NAIA 3 dispute.

"Why is it that only the local shareholders and foreign shareholders are being consulted?" he asked.

Oredina said airport workers and other labor organizations were the first group to file a case with the Supreme Court questioning the constitutionality and legality of the government contract with Piatco (Philippine International Air Terminal Co., Inc.).

According to him, airport workers, numbering around 10,000, are among the major stakeholders so it is just proper that they should be consulted in any discussions to come up with a win-win formula for the project.

The workers also questioned the preparedness of the new airport to be operational in August. "We don’t see any work at the new airport to address its many operational and technical defects," Oredina said.

Earlier, Transportation and Communications Secretary Leandro Mendoza said President Arroyo wants the new airport to begin operations in August so she can fly out of the country from the facility when she visits Germany.

It was also Mendoza who revealed that only the local and foreign shareholders are being consulted to settle the various issues surrounding the project.