Makabayan bloc urges probe into Manila airport privatization

By Aaron Ernest Cruz
Bulatlat.com

MANILA – Makabayan bloc filed a resolution urging the House of Representatives to investigate the privatization of Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) on Monday, July 7. 

In House Resolution No. 2316 ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio and Kabataan Partylist Rep. Renee Co questioned the process of rehabilitating the NAIA airport which was eventually turned over to the private sector. 

“The purported issues in the NAIA Public Private Partnership Project that span from the fast-tracked approval of the proposal, irregularities in the submission of documents, limited timeline for bidding process, non-consultative approval and implementation of airport fee increases, and cancellation of the procurement process, altogether warrant a close investigation on the privatization of NAIA,” the resolution read. 

The Makabayan bloc emphasized the direct effect of privatization of public transport to the Filipino people as fees will increase. They reiterated that public services should be managed and operated by the state and should not be handed over to private companies, which prioritize profit. 

NAIA serves as the primary international gateway of the Philippines that serves 33.2 million passengers including overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). It has been dubbed as the fifth busiest airport in Southeast Asia and fourth worst airport in Asia.

Josie Pingkihan, deputy secretary general of Migrante International, meanwhile condemned the increase of transport fees and discussed its effect on OFWs. “Even though OFWs are exempted from paying terminal fees and  travel tax, they still need to go through the process to claim their refund. Many OFWs are unable to claim their refund or are having a hard time to claim it.,” Pingkihan stated. 

Read: Public-private partnerships under fire for soaring utility costs 

Unconsulted fast-paced privatization

The Makabayan bloc noted the fast approval of the NAIA privatization, saying that the NAIA PPP proposal was approved by the Department of Economy, Planning and Development or DepDev (former National Economic and Development Authority) board in 47 days. The government said it was the “fastest PPP proposal approval in history,” despite being fast-tracked and non-consultative, the Makabayan said.

Makabayan said the railroading of the NAIA PPP continued throughout the bidding process, when on December 24, 2023, the Project Pre-qualification, Bids and Awards Committee (PBAC) issued the final draft of the Concession Agreement despite having a blank annex that should contain the MIAA administrative order on the approved rates of NAIA fees and charges, and on December 27, 2023, the Bid Submission Date was set, notwithstanding the very limited and implausible timeline to prepare for a sensible bid. The Manila International Airport Authority and the Department of Transportation (DOTr) submitted the PPP proposal on June 2, 2023. 

The DOTR announced on Feb. 16, 2024 that Ramon Ang’s San Miguel Corporation-SAP & Company Consortium won the  P170.6 billion ($3, 021, 287, 154.38) bidding of NAIA PPP project. The New NAIA Infrastructure Corporation (NNIC), a subsidiary of SMC-SAP consortium, officially took over management and operation of NAIA in September 2024. 

The NNIC is set to continue overseeing the airport until 2039 with a possible extension of additional 10 years. 

The government estimates that the NAIA PPP project will generate about  P900 billion if the 15-year concession is extended to 10 more years. Most of the revenue will be incurred on aeronautical charges which the Makabayan bloc said, will result in higher airfares and service charges for passengers and consumers.

The SMC-SAP consortium is composed of Ramon Ang’s San Miguel Corp. RMM Asian Logistics, Inc., RLW Aviation Development, Inc., and Incheon International Airport Group, a conglomerate monopolizing some of the key air and road transport systems in Metro Manila and nearby provinces of Central Luzon and Southern Tagalog. 

Aside from NAIA, it also controls major public transport and highways such as the controversial New Manila International Airport or the Bulacan Aerotropolis Project, South Luzon Expressway and operates majority of the tollways including South Luzon Expressway and Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEX).  (AMU, RVO)

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