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By Efren L. Danao Senior, Reporter
The House of Representatives and the Senate are
expected to ratify this week the reconciled bill creating the Civil
Aeronautics Administration of the Philippines—unless delayed by a
leadership upheaval in the Lower House.
The bicameral body had reconciled last Tuesday
the conflicting provisions of the House and Senate bills creating
the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA), a new government
corporation that will replace the Air Transport Office. The House
abruptly adjourned Wednesday, preventing members of the House panel
from signing the report. It will be submitted to the House and
Senate plenary for ratification once all members of the bicameral
panel have signed it.
Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile, chairman of the Senate
Committee on Public Services and head of the Senate panel, said he
is confident the aviation system in the country will get back its
Category 1 rating from the US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) once
the bill becomes a law.
The FAA, in its January 8 report, listed the
Philippines as among 21 countries that failed to provide safety
oversight of its air carrier operators in accordance with the
minimum safety oversight standards established by the International
Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and downgraded it to Category 2.
ICAO is a specialized agency of the United Nations created to
promote safe and orderly development of international civil
aviation.
Enrile said the FAA will have another meeting
with Philippine aviation officials to reassess the condition of the
local air transport system. However, he is not sure of the date of
the meeting.
Nevertheless, he said he is confident the
Philippines will soon regain Category 1 rating, since the Civil
Aeronautics Administration will have fiscal autonomy. He added that
this will enable it to use its revenues to upgrade facilities and
train technical people.
“The CAA will have a capital stock of P50
billion,” the senator said. “It can also use about P3 billion it
collects in revenues in airports other than the Ninoy Aquino
International Airport, the Diosdado Macapagal airport in Clark and
the Subic airport.”
These three airports retain their revenues based
on their respective charters.
The Senate yielded to the House version of
giving the Civil Aeronautics Administration fiscal authority rather
than have its annual budget go through Congress for approval.
“We agreed that this would prevent the CAA
from undertaking a smoother operation,” Enrile said. “We have
decided instead to create an oversight committee to see how the CAA
is implementing the law.”
The reconciled bill gives the Civil Aeronautics
Administration six months to reorganize and implement the law. The
new agency will take over the assets and personnel of the Air
Transport Office.
Enrile said the report was based mainly on the
House version, authored by Representatives Monico Puentebella of
Bacolod City and Juan Edgardo Angara of Aurora Province. There were
bills filed on the Civil Aeronautics Administration of the
Philippines in the Senate by Senators Edgardo Angara, Francis
Escudero and Jinggoy Estrada.
The FAA downgrade to Category 2 could cost the
Philippines billions in lost tourism and investment revenues and
will keep Philippine Airlines form pushing ahead with the upgrading
of its aircraft, services and frequency of flights to the United
States.
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