ATO, CAB revamp launched

The Department of Transportation and Communications is set to revamp the Air Transportation Office (ATO) and the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), DOTC Secretary Leandro Mendoza disclosed yesterday.

The two agencies supervise the operations of commercial airlines in the country.

Mendoza issued the order to prevent aviation accidents such as the the crash of a Laoag International Airlines plane in Manila Bay last Nov. 11.

"We must avoid the repetition of such accidents," said Mendoza. "We should restructure our organizational setup, review our rules and regulations and improve the implementation and observance of safety measures by our airlines."

Mendoza said that they would also revise the rules and regulations governing the operations, maintenance and safety procedures of commercial aircraft to ensure commercial aviation safety.

DOTC spokesman retired Gen. Thompson Lantion said that the DOTC wants the ATO and the CAB to concentrate on ensuring that small airlines and bus companies should follow strictly procedural regulations governing the maintenance of their operating units to high levels of safety and performance.

"This does not mean that the DOTC, ATO and CAB should be hostile to smaller airlines. We realize that they also have their roles to play in servicing the travel needs in our country, especially the so-called missionary routes that are not being plied by the bigger airline companies," he stressed. — Sheila Crisostomo