Senate panel threatens not to approve CAB 2004 budget

A Senate panel has threatened not to approve the 2004 budget of the Civil Aeronautics Board if Malacañang would not act on calls for the removal of Alberto Lim from the CAB board as private sector representative.

The Senate public services committee chaired by Sen. Joker Arroyo, which is conducting hearings on the CAB budget, questioned CAB officials led by Executive Director Tomas Manalac during the budget hearing last Tuesday (Dec. 9) about the continued stay of Lim in the board.

Arroyo and Senate Minority Leader Sen. Tito Sotto said Lim is a former vice chairman of the Freedom to Fly Coalition (FFC), which has been unmasked in the Senate during the AGILE hearings as a lobbyist for foreign airlines in the country.

Sotto said Lim is not expected to promote the interests of the local aviation industry as he is a member of the lobby group pushing for foreign interests in the airline sector. Lim was among the founders of FFC.

He stressed that Lim has access to documents pertaining to aviation negotiations as well as strategy and confidential papers from government agencies and stakeholders, giving the FFC and its foreign backers an inside track into Philippine government policy on air issues.

The senator emphasized that Lim presents a potential conflict of interest when aviation and tourism issues come before the board. "I’m very positive Lim cannot make objective decisions on such issues."

"What controls has the CAB put in place to preserve the integrity of the regulatory process against undue influence from foreign-funded groups like the FFC?" he asked.

Arroyo pointed out that Lim has been the object of complaints in several hearings conducted by various Senate committees on aviation issues regarding his objectivity and impartiality.

"There have been objections from the minority leader (Sotto) about the continued stay of Lim. President Arroyo has not removed him so we have these lopsided air arrangements with the US (and other countries)," Arroyo said.

When informed by Manalac that Lim is a presidential appointee and sits at the pleasure of the President, Sen. Arroyo asked the CAB head to immediately inform the Chief Executive about the panel’s position or the agency’s budget would not be approved.

"You cannot risk having no budget for the agency just because of one man. If the recommendation is to further trim down your budget, then we have no choice," he told Manalac. The same committee had slashed the budget of the CAB this year over complaints against the former executive director.

"The President must be responsive to the sentiments of the Senate," he added.

Arroyo also lamented that the President is getting the wrong advice on aviation matters.

"They (advocates) said an open skies policy brings in tourists but the evidence shows it is not. And the President is not given the right information on this issue," he pointed out.