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Tuesday, December 30, 2003
Laviņa drafts EO declaring pocket open skies in Davao
By Christie Enriquez-Uayan
BELIEVING that pocket open skies could provide more benefit to the region's business and tourism sectors than bilateral air agreements, Councilor Peter Laviņa said on Monday he would submit a draft of an executive order declaring the Davao International Airport (DIA) as such.
He said the proposed Executive Order would authorize the suspension requiring foreign airline companies to undergo bilateral air agreements with the government and other concerned parties.
But he clarified that like the rest of the foreign airlines already operating in Davao, these offshore firms need to comply with the standards set by Philippines for customs, quarantine and other requisites.
Laviņa said the declaration would allow foreign airlines with limited entitlements to fly to Davao without violating its agreement with the Philippine government.
Malaysia Airlines, he said, is interested in opening a new route to DIA, but could not do so because it has already used up the maximum entitlement granted by the Philippines through the bilateral air agreement.
"Malaysia airlines already flies about nine times a week to and from Ninoy Aquino International Airport, which is the flight frequency allowed by their government," he said.
Laviņa added that with the pronouncement, Davao could become a major tourism destination in Asia; the same way pocket open skies declaration put Cambodia on the tourism map.
Meanwhile, he is apprehensive about the proposed creation of a DIA Authority.
"Initially I supported the creation of an authority to manage DIA. However, we learned that it is difficult because it cannot guarantee that the aiport will really make money," he said.
He agrees with the proposal to let the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) manage international airports in the country.
With Naia managing the DIA, he said that operation, maintenance, and other incremental expenses by DIA will not be sacrificed since Naia "has a lot of funds."
"It (Naia) also has the expertise and technology to run an airport," he said, adding the local government might not be able to subsidize DIA operations after a few years more.
Air Transportation Office (ATO) 11 Chief Frederick San Felix admitted their 2003 budget has not been released in full because of financial difficulty.
San Felix would not disclose the amount, but said the total budget for DIA this year is P80 million.
(December 30, 2003 issue)
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