The Clark International Airport Corporation (CIAC) renewed its call to exercise oversight functions over the privately-run Clark International Airport (CRK), according to newly appointed CIAC president and chief executive officer Aaron Aquino.
Since August 2019, Luzon International Premiere Airport Development has been operating and maintaining CRK by virtue of a 25-year contract with the government.
“We respectfully asked Secretary Tugade and sought his guidance and formal directive since CIAC manages the aviation complex here in Clark (and is) host to the private Clark airport,” Aquino said in a statement.
“Airports are public utilities and therefore a public concern. While the government encourages private sector partnerships, we must not be remiss in our duties to place public wellbeing as our paramount objective,” he added.
The Department of Transportation (DOTr) exercises policy and operational supervision over CIAC, which manages the Clark Civil Aviation Complex where CRK is situated. CIAC is a government-owned and controlled corporation and a subsidiary of the Bases Conversion Development Authority.
READ: CIAC eyes partnerships to further develop Clark airport complex
CIAC said the airport oversight functions may be granted through the issuance of a DOTr memorandum circular or administrative order.
The agency’s oversight responsibilities will include, among others, ensuring the safety and security of the riding public, and providing overall coordination of all government agencies operating at the airport especially with crucial roles in enforcing public safety, customs, quarantine, and immigration laws.
On the economic side, Aquino said CIAC’s oversight role will assure that any further landside projects surrounding the airport must conform to the development master plan approved by the government.
“Oversight will also mean government responsibility in this time of the pandemic, that initiatives for the riding public are ensured, such as the methodical and hands-on management of stranded or repatriated passengers,” Aquino said.
Aquino, formerly head of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, noted that CIAC’s oversight functions will also entail enhancing airport security and close coordination with law enforcement agencies and the intelligence community, “including the United States Department of Homeland Security.”
The CIAC chief pointed out that Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority, also an attached agency of the DOTr, maintains oversight functions of the operations of the Mactan-Cebu International Airport while it is being operated by private consortium GMR Megawide Corp.
