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The Department of Transportation has secured approval to transfer the aircraft accident investigation function of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines to the transport department
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DOTr undersecretary for aviation and airports Roberto Lim said the transfer can be operational within the year
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The transfer is one of the measures being taken to “unburden” CAAP with its “inherent” conflicting functions of being regulator and operator
The aircraft accident investigation function of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) will be transferred to the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to avoid conflict of interest during investigations, according to Undersecretary for Aviation and Airports Roberto Lim.
While the bill to create a Philippine Transportation Safety Board (PTSB) is still pending in Congress, Lim said, “What we have done is to use the administrative process and secure the administrative approvals that will transfer the function of aircraft accident investigation to the Department of Transportation.”
“Approvals have been secured, and this will be operational within the year,” Lim said in a speech during the recent 2024 Aviation Summit hosted by the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines and the Asian Business Aviation Association.
Last year, Lim said DOTr submitted to the Office of the President a draft executive order suggesting the temporary transfer of the Aircraft Accident Investigation and Inquiry Board from CAAP to either DOTr’s Aviation Sector or the Office of Transportation Security “so that it is independent when it makes an aircraft investigation.”
Lim said the goal is to establish an independent accident investigation board, particularly for the aviation sector, to help the Philippines meet the airspace safety requirements set by the International Civil Aviation Organization, of which the country is a member.
In 2022, Congress passed a bill creating the PTSB—an independent and impartial transport safety body—but this was subsequently vetoed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. who argued the proposed body would duplicate the functions of other relevant government agencies.
Since then, various bills to create a PTSB have been filed in both the Senate and the House. Lim expressed DOTr’s support for these bills.
He said the transfer of CAAP’s aircraft incident investigation function is one of the measures being taken to “unburden” CAAP with its “inherent” conflicting functions of being a regulator and operator. Lim said what they want is for CAAP to focus on being a regulator.
Another is the privatization of airports through public-private partnership or official development assistance, Lim said.
Moreover, Lim said DOTr has tapped the World Bank-International Finance Corp. to conduct a study and evaluation on finding the “best strategy on how to operate the air traffic control system.”
He said this could be by putting its operations into another government authority or corporation, or through a joint venture between the government and private sector just like how it is done in other countries.
“Hopefully by next year we will have a clearer view of the study and the recommendations and then we proceed to make a decision on how best to implement it,” Lim said.
Moreover, there are several bills pending in Congress that also seek to address CAAP’s conflicting functions and strengthen its operations.
These include, among others, Senate Bill No. 1073 and House Bill No. 7420, which seek to create a Philippine Airports Authority to separate the conflicting functions of CAAP as an airport regulator and operator.
Various bills are also filed in the Senate and House to amend Republic Act No. 9497, or the Civil Aviation Authority Act of 2008, to strengthen CAAP and provide a development and modernization fund for the agency.
READ: PH aviation needs “urgent institutional reforms” – policy brief
