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Friday, January 18, 2008
Arroyo sacks air transport chief
MANILA -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Thursday designated Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza as concurrent Air Transportation Office (ATO) chief and gave him three months to take care of the administrative and technical issues raised by the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA).
Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said the President also gave Mendoza three months to comply with the requirements of the FAA and Civil Aviation Organization (Icao) for the Philippines to be reverted to Category 1.
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"The issues involved here are merely technicalities and documentation and do not concern issues on safety," Bunye said.
Mendoza would take over the ATO chief post from Engineer Daniel Dimagiba, acting transport assistant secretary who was designated ATO officer-in-charge last October. Dimagiba's staff said he was in Bacolod attending a conference.
In a January 8 report, the FAA included the Philippines in a list of 21 countries that failed to "provide safety oversight of its air carrier operators in accordance with the minimum safety oversight standards established by the Icao."
In its new Flight Standards Service-International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA), the FAA downgraded the country's rating from Category 1 to Category 2.
Country that fall under Category 1 are those which comply with the Icao aviation safety standards, while those that fall under Category 2 do not, the FAA said on its website.
Bunye, for his part, said the Philippines has a "very high safety record" and that the issues do not involve any carrier or aircraft.
He expressed confidence that Mendoza's hands-on guidance and the expected passage into law of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) bill by Congress will solve the issues raised by the US FAA.
The CAA bill would turn the ATO a distinct agency from the transportation department and enable it to use most of the P3 billion income of the ATO as operating expense instead of relying on the P1.3 billion budget given by government.
Once approved, the measure is expected to strengthen flying schools, upgrade the equipment and facilities of the Philippines' 85 airports, hire new employees and prevent the exodus of more qualified personnel who are being recruited abroad in exchange for higher salaries. (JMR/Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro. (January 18, 2008 issue)
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