CAAP denies Caticlan airport dangerous to planes, passengers

MANILA, Philippines - The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines on Wednesday denied the allegations of a Marikina congressman that the Caticlan airport is a hazard to aircraft because of the removal of a perimeter fence, allowing stray animals to roam on the runway.

The accusation was made by Marikina Rep. Del de Guzman, which appeared in several newspapers saying that Caap director-general Ruben Ciron should be sacked for removing the perimeter fence.

De Guzman said that unidentified foreign tourists have seen the animals while inside the airplane and complained about it to airport authorities.

Ciron wrote the Marikina lawmaker to deny the allegations, saying that it might mislead visitors to Boracay resorts. He gave de Guzman a point-by-point answers to the accusations.

“Like you, I am deeply concerned with the safety and security of the flying public but the exposé that you have aired in the newspapers appear to be full of heat but lacking the light of reality.”

“It appears that whoever gave you the “facts” about the Caticlan airport appears ignorant of the workings of aviation in general, or simply biased or dishonest in telling the truth in particular.

According to Ciron, Caticlan airport’s officer-in-charge, Ma. Mecine Torre, had written to categorically deny that there have been stray animals such as “dogs, carabaos, goats and chicken wandering in the runway.”

She told Ciron that any stray animals would have been easily spotted by the Airport Crash and Rescue unit, who are on 24-hour duty inspecting and clearing the airport.

Also, if such animals have actually roamed the runway, this would not have escaped the attention of the pilots.

Perimeter fence

“As to the matter of having me ordered the removal of the perimeter fence, let me again comfort you by saying that yours truly does not make unilateral decisions regarding the matter.”

He said that improvements are ongoing at the Caticlan airport and the Caap has spent some P32 million for its upgrading. The work is not yet finished and some construction is taking place.

The removal of the perimeter fence on both ends of runway 06-24 on Nov. 30, is in compliance with an agreed plan by many sectors.

Earlier this month, the CAAP had reopened the airport to normal operations after the airport’s build-operate-transfer contractor, the Caticlan International Airport Development Corp., led by businessman George Yang, undertook runway rehabilitation works and trimming operations on a nearby mountain to allow a safer approach into the airport.

De Guzman said that Aklan officials and airport security had conveyed to him security concerns as a result of the removal of the perimeter fences.  – With Rainier Allan Ronda