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The Joint Foreign Chambers of the Philippines called on the Senate to approve legislative measures aimed at overhauling the governance framework of the country’s airports
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The JFC emphasized the importance of the bill seeking to amend and strengthen the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines’ role in safety oversight
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The JFC also pushed for approval of the measure creating a Philippine Airports Authority to separate the conflicting functions of CAAP as an airport regulator and operator
The Joint Foreign Chambers of the Philippines (JFC) called on the Senate to approve legislative measures aimed at overhauling the governance framework of the country’s airports.
In a letter to the Senate, the JFC said it emphasized the importance of the importance of the bills seeking to amend and strengthen the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines’ (CAAP) role in safety oversight by enhancing human resource development, fortifying the board, and aligning with global safety standards.
Senate Bill (SB) Nos. 1654 and 1003 both seek to amend Republic Act No. 9497, or the Civil Aviation Authority Act of 2008, to strengthen CAAP. SB 1646, meanwhile, aims to provide a development and modernization fund for CAAP. All bills are pending at the committee level.
The JFC also pushed for the approval of the measure creating a Philippine Airports Authority (PAA) to separate the conflicting functions of CAAP as an airport regulator and operator.
SB 1073, which seeks to create the PAA, is still pending at the committee level.
The separation of CAAP’s conflicting functions and establishment of PAA was supported by the Department of Transportation.
The JFC also reiterated its support for the creation of a Philippine Transportation Safety Board (PTSB) to strengthen the government’s ability to investigate accidents and improve safety.
SB 1121, or the Philippine Transportation Safety Board Act, is currently pending for second reading.
Together with the Safe Travel Alliance and International Air Transport Association, the JFC last year called on Congress to reconsider and approve the bill creating the PTSB after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. vetoed a bill creating the same, saying functions intended for the proposed safety board are already being undertaken by different agencies and the creation of the body will only create “functional duplication.”
“These reforms are essential to enhancing the safety, efficiency, and overall quality of both domestic and international airports in the Philippines,” the JFC said in its letter.
In a statement, the JFC said its letter comes after a number of flights in and out of Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) were delayed on May 20 following an issue with the software of the Air Traffic Management Center, which is operated by CAAP.
The letter also notes that the legislative reforms were also recommended in Senate Committee Report 39, filed on March 23, 2023, following the legislative inquiry into the air traffic management system glitch at NAIA on January 1, 2023, and calls for the appropriate structure in place to prevent similar transport incidents from happening in the future.
The JFC is a coalition of the American, Australian-New Zealand, Canadian, European, Japanese, and Korean chambers of commerce and industry, and the Philippine Association of Multinational Companies Regional Headquarters, Inc.
