GMA wants NAIA-3 opened by March 2007

President Arroyo has ordered Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza to finish the evaluation of the structural integrity of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 (NAIA-3) by next month and open the facility by end of March, Cabinet Secretary Ricardo Saludo said yesterday.

The President issued the order as the controversy over the NAIA-3 took a new twist earlier this week after the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) recommended the filing of criminal charges against executives of the consortium that built the facility for alleged violations of the Anti-Dummy Law.

"The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) should spell out its timeframe. The sooner NAIA-3 is opened, the better," Saludo said quoting Mrs. Arroyo as telling Cabinet officials during a meeting at Malacañang last Tuesday.

He said the President also instructed the DOTC to speed up the construction of the Kalibo and Laguindingan airports and discuss with the Cabinet all roadblocks encountered with respect to the immediate construction of these airports.

Trade Secretary Peter Favila earlier said the NAIA-3 would be opened within six to nine months after all legal problems to compensate the Philippine International Air Terminals Co. (Piatco) and its German partner, Fraport AG, were removed by the courts and full ownership of the facility is given to the government.

The government made an initial payment of P3 billion to Piatco earlier this month. The final amount of compensation, however, is still being determined by independent international valuators.

Saludo said Mrs. Arroyo has decided to convene the National Competitiveness Summit today to help achieve the administration’s goal of raising the country’s global competitiveness rank to the top three before 2010.

During the Cabinet meeting, Favila reported that the private sector has identified six areas that would enhance the country’s competitiveness if given attention. These are competitive human resources, cost competitive and self-sufficient energy, seamless infrastructure network, efficient public and private sector management, effective access to financing and improved transaction costs and flows.

Mrs. Arroyo said the regulatory issue rather than developmental attitude of policymakers, has delayed the implementation of many government projects that have direct impact on the overall competitiveness of the Philippines.

She cited as examples the NAIA-3, the Kalibo and Laguindingan airports, and the LRT 1-Metro Rail Transit 3 link projects.

She said the summit should not be a venue for repetitious policy pronouncements but should discuss the impact of existing procedures and the implementation of streamlined processes under Executive Order No. 426.