Terminal 3 proponent dismisses Pampanga class suit

The Philippine International Air Terminals Co. Inc. (Piatco), builder and operator of the soon-to-open Terminal 3 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), dismissed the recent class suit filed by two groups in Angeles City, Pam—panga as a desperate ploy by oppositors to stop the $550-million project.

In a statement, lawyer Moises Tolentino, Piatco spokesman, claimed that the petitioners, Move Clark Now and Pinoy Gumising Ka Movement, have been instigated into discrediting the Terminal 3 project which is currently under construction.

Tolentino expressed concern that the 500 government officials, civic leaders and concerned citizens who signed the petition to annul the concession agreement between the government and Piatco in the building and operation of the new international passenger terminal under the build-operate-transfer scheme were misled by two Angeles City officials.

Tolentino said that even President Arroyo stated during the ceremonies renaming the Clark airport into the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) that the Piatco contract has nothing to do with the development of the former military base.

Transportation officials also said that Clark’s advancement can start any time and that the Piatco contract cannot and will not stop it.

Under the concession agreement, the DMIA can operate as an international airport and can put up additional structures even before the NAIA Termi—nal 3 starts operating by end-2002.

The contract only calls for the DMIA to operate within its maximum design capacity of 850,000 passengers annually until Terminal 3 reaches the 10 million passengers’ capacity for three consecutive years.