Foreign firm pushed to run NAIA

MANILA, Philippines — There are no legal impediments in having a foreign company with a solid track record run the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), which has been consistently ranked as the world’s worst airport and was hit by another major power outage this year, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said yesterday.

The six-hour power interruption at NAIA Terminal 3 on Monday forced flight cancellations. The NAIA last had a similar incident on Jan. 1.

Zubiri said Meralco pointed out that there was no power surge on Monday but the power cables at the airport were over 30 years old and could no longer bear high electric loads.

“I think if they can’t run it efficiently, then they should be replaced by competent people or even better. Why don’t you get an internationally known airport operator to run the airport, without fear or favor? So that if there are politicians trying to create trouble, they can be blocked,” Zubiri told the Kapihan sa Manila Bay forum.

He said Republic Act 11659 of 2022 or the law that amended the Commonwealth-era Public Services Law allows up to 100 percent ownership of public services, including telecommunications, railways, expressways, airports and shipping industries.

Zubiri cited the company that operates the Changi International Airport in Singapore as a good candidate for running the NAIA.

Sen. Grace Poe, who chairs the Senate committee on public services, questioned the MIAA’s request for P1 billion for generators.

She said MIAA officials have long known the need for back-up generators and should have asked Congress for funding for the equipment in previous years.

“The extra P1 billion necessary to provide back-up power can be subsidized through the budget’s unprogrammed funds or even through the revolving funds from airport operations,” Poe said.

“The question is, if they knew that the existing backup power can only support 30 percent of the terminal’s power requirement, why did they not propose to procure back-up generators during our budget hearings last year? Clearly, they have been remiss in their duties, by not proposing an upgraded back-up system,” she said.

The senator said there was a full electrical audit conducted in 2017 and there appears to have been recommendations released to the Senate arising from the review.

“Why did past and present NAIA administrations fail to comply with the recommended upgrades?” Poe asked.