Full Review of Possible NAIA Privatization Needed

The New Years’ blackout at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) last January 1, 2023, affected an estimated 56,000 passengers and virtually paralyzed the Philippine air space, and halted all incoming and outbound flights.

After the New Year’s Day NAIA technical issues, the Department of Transportation (DOTs) stated that it would need an estimated  ₱13 billion to upgrade the current system at NAIA.

“Kung (About the) budget, it should be more than ₱13 billion now considering we had this five years ago,” mentioned Secretary Jaime Bautista.

“We will need huge money for this. I was informed that the existing system will cost us around ₱13 billion in 2018.”

Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) Director General Manuel Tamayo stated that the system glitch in NAIA happened due to one of the uninterruptible power supplies (UPS)  failing to operate thus needing troubleshooting. The CAAP likewise disclosed that the Communications, Navigation, and Surveillance/Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM) System being used “is already behind when it was first used in 2019.”

Both government officials and business groups have expressed their own opinions and sentiments regarding the privatization of NAIA as a way to ensure this mishap does not happen again.

For partly-list groups such as ACT Teachers and Bayan Muna mentioned how President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. can use the recent NAIA issues to justify privatization plans.

“The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines’ (CAAP) suspiciously vague statement of a ‘technical issue’ in the navigation system, without any backup system for cases like this, shows the government’s utter lack of competence to ensure public transport,” mentioned Bayan Muna Chairman Neri Colmenares.

Senators such as JV Ejercito have stated that the NAIA privatization will not benefit the public while Christopher “Bong” Go has stated that possible privatization must be reviewed thoroughly.

Meanwhile, the business sector remains split on the topic of NAIA privatization, with the President of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, George Barcelon saying that “You cannot privatize all the airports. I wouldn’t go along that line. The private sector is not foolproof,”

Founder of Go Negosyo and a member of the current Marcos admin’s private sector advisory council, Joey Concepcion is warming up toward the 2018 proposal to create a consortium to modernize NAIA.

Regardless of any decision to move forward or scrap the privatization plan of NAIA, this must be reviewed properly.

Source: CNN Philippines, Inquirer, CNN Philippines, Manila Bulletin, Philstar