MANILA -- The government should use the travel taxes paid for by airline passengers to finance an “emergency makeover” at the three terminals of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia), a lawmaker said Friday.
Aurora Representative Sonny Angara made the comment just few months after the website, “The Guide to Sleeping in Airports,” ranked the Naia not only Asia’s worst but also the fifth worst in the world.
“Poverty can never be an excuse on why the Ninoy Aquino International Airport continues to be beset by poor facilities because year in and year out it is turning in a tidy profit,” said the congressman.
The Manila International Airport Authority collects an airport fee of P200 and P750 from each departing domestic and international passenger, respectively. Filipino citizens and permanent residents in the country travelling abroad are also required to pay a travel tax of P1,620, if flying economy or P2,700, if holding a first class ticket.
In 2009 , the agency which collects the tax , the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprises Zone Authority (Tieza), formerly the Philippine Tourism Authority, reported a gross income of P1.36 billion, and a net income before tax of P320 million. (Kathrina Alvarez/Sunnex)