Poor workmanship blamed for NAIA-3 roof collapse

A third-party investigator hired by the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) has found "poor workmanship" to be the cause for the collapse of the ceiling of Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 (NAIA-3) last March.

In its investigation report last Saturday, the Association of Structural Engineers of the Philippines (ASEP) said a structural evaluation of the whole NAIA-3’s ceiling network should be checked to determine if "poor workmanship" was also present in the other parts of the terminal built by Japanese firm Takenaka Corp.

However, ASEP discounted accusations hurled against Takenaka that sub-standard materials were used in constructing the mothballed facility.

"A check made on the materials used per se found that they were adequate," a source said.

As of yesterday, MIAA officials declined to comment, saying they needed to review the ASEP report thoroughly before issuing statements.

Florencio Montalbo Jr., MIAA assistant general manager for NAIA Terminal 3 concerns, said they have asked for a meeting with ASEP to clarify several items in the report.

"We want to check with ASEP if we’re understanding the report in the same way they want it to be understood," he told The STAR. "It’s for clarificatory purposes."

On the other hand, former Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Perfecto Yasay, lead counsel of Asia’s Emerging Dragon Corp. (AEDC), said the ASEP findings highlighted the need for government to rethink its planned expropriation of NAIA-3 in view of mounting evidence against the facility’s structural integrity.

"I think they (MIAA) should be given time to really get to the bottom of things because you can’t sweep these things under the rug," he said.

"The safety of the facility or the structure will have an impact on the lives of people, of passengers or the riding public and this cannot be compromised."

Yasay said the government should suspend reported negotiations with Philippine International Air Terminals Co. (Piatco) for the takeover of the terminal to begin commercial operations next year.

"If negotiations have to be suspended to allow for that further examination and technical inspection, then it should be done," he said.

Yasay said the ASEP report should not come as a surprise to the government.

"Government knows from the very beginning on the basis of the report of experts who had been their witnesses in the arbitration cases in Washington and Singapore that the structural integrity of the building has been compromised because of corruption," he said.

AEDC was formed by five Filipino-Chinese taipans — Lucio Tan, John Gokongwei Jr., Alfonso Yuchengco Jr., George S.K. Ty and Andrew Gotianun — to take up the challenge of former president Fidel Ramos to pool their resources for the construction of a much-needed modern and world-class international passenger terminal in 1995.

It is now owned wholly by Tan, who has a claim over the terminal project on the strength of being the original project proponent.

MIAA sources said that aside from "poor workmanship" the ASEP learned that there seemed to be no pre-construction design plans for the NAIA Terminal 3, particularly for its ceiling.

These findings reportedly came out when Takenaka failed to provide ASEP with the pre-construction plans, a fact that made an investigation into the ceiling collapse more difficult.

Takenaka also conducted its own investigation and submitted its report to MIAA.

After their investigation, Takenaka volunteered to make the necessary repairs to the damaged ceiling.

Takenaka was the lead contractor hired by Piatco to build NAIA-3 in 1998.

Piatco was the consortium that submitted a winning counter-bid to build the NAIA Terminal 3 for the government against the unsolicited proposal of the AEDC.

The Supreme Court voided the build-operate-transfer contract between Piatco and the government due to onerous amendments to the original agreement in December 2004.

On the strength of the SC ruling, the government subsequently took over the terminal and started expropriation proceedings, which led to Piatco and its German investor, Fraport AG, to file cases before Philippine and international courts.

Late last December, the Supreme Court ordered the government to pay Piatco just compensation before it could take over NAIA-3.

Last March 31, the MIAA was about to hold a soft opening of NAIA-3 when a 100-square-meter portion of ceiling collapsed four days before the scheduled opening date, forcing MIAA general manager Alfonso Cusi to call off the opening plans.