European chamber urges government to resolve NAIA Terminal 3 issue

The European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP) is urging the National Government to settle with finality the dragging and irritating issue of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3.

The influential business group also expressed its support towards moves to amend and upgrade the country’s Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) Law.

In a press briefing last Friday, ECCP executive vice president Henry J. Schumacher said that issue of the NAIA Terminal 3 has been transformed into a "failure of investment."

"If it is not resolved, regardless of who was at fault, it would result in a failure of investment and thus a visible negative sign," Schumacher said.

From the foreign investors’ point of view, failure to solve the NAIA Terminal 3 issue soon would be "lights out" for the Philippines in terms of new investments by 2007 to 2008.

No investor would make investments when the threat of losing millions of dollars in direct investment would be lost due to some legality, he added.

Schumacher lamented the fact that the Philippines now has a reputation among the foreign business community of having the most unpredictable, yet pesky judicial system. "How many businesses with foreign money were lost due to the interference of the Philippine judicial system?" he asked.

The ECCP chief recommends that among the amendments that could help improve the BOT Law, is a change in the guarantees for the investors offered by the law.

"We cannot have a situation where the laws are changed halfway," he said.

Schumacher said that one barrier could be removed if the NAIA issue is resolved, or the BOT Law is amended within the year. There are reports that the government is considering a government negotiator that would address and confront the airport issue.

"I only hope that that negotiator is acceptable and respected by all the parties involved, and that negotiator must have political clout," he added.

Meanwhile, the ECP official expressed satisfaction that the Arroyo administration is addressing the fiscal problems.