DOTC defends NAIA contract

The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) denied yesterday that the contract it awarded to a private contractor concerning the construction of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 was lopsided in favor of the contractor.

Alan Tan, acting Undersecretary for Aviation, said it was inaccurate to say that the government was on the losing end of the contract with the Philippine International Airport Terminals Co. (PIATCO).

"The contract has been approved by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA). The provisions have been studied thoroughly to ensure that it will not be disadvantageous to the government," Tan said.

The Association of MIA-NAIA Service Operators (MASO) has alleged that the contract was "onerous and grossly disadvantageous" to the government because it gives PIATCO the exclusive right to construct and operate the NAIA Terminal 3.

MASO claimed that under the contract, the government will also lose billions of pesos because it has waived control over the rates of charges and fees to be collected.

Under the contract, the government is obligated to construct an access road from NAIA 2 to NAIA 3, and will assume PIATCO’s foreign loan obligations in case the contractor defaults in its payments.

Tan asserted that PIATCO would be the one to construct the access road, adding "there is no way they can get control of the rates" because there are fixed percentages of income that will go to the government.

He admitted, however, that the government will have to assume PIATCO’s foreign loan obligations "because it is the condition of the loan."

"It is like that. The government has sovereign guarantee in all contracts where there are foreign loans. But this has been approved by NEDA," Tan explained. –Sheila Crisostomo