CAAP exec dies of heart attack

MANILA, Philippines - The head of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) flight operations department died of heart attack over the weekend.

Captain Francisco Juliano, 72, reportedly suffered a stroke in his office. He was rushed to the Villamor Airbase Hospital where he expired at 1 p.m.

Juliano’s executive assistant, Wilma Caliste, said the CAAP official opted to work on Saturday to prepare documents needed for an audit to be conducted by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) on the agency.

Caliste said ICAO will start its review of the agency today until Friday to determine if CAAP has complied with international safety standards before granting back its Category 1 status.

The Philippines was downgraded to Category 2 status by the US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) in 2007 after CAAP committed lapses on safety issues.

If CAAP regains its Category 1 status, sanctions imposed by the FAA on Philippine air carriers will be lifted.