Trillanes: NAIA privatization will result to increased terminal fees

Senator Antonio "Sonny" F. Trillanes IV expressed his objection on the proposed privatization of the operation and maintenance (O&M) of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

"Being the premiere airport in the country and considering the public interest involved in its operation, NAIA should be under the auspices of the government," said Trillanes.

Recently, the Department of Transportation and Communications announced that the government is preparing the NAIA for privatization in anticipation of the spike in passenger traffic in the coming years.

Based on the study conducted by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the NAIA would be totally capacity-saturated by 2015, and could no longer accommodate another round of increases in passenger traffic. To resolve this, it proposes the construction of a new international gateway, which would require at least $10 billion in investments.

Trillanes questioned the logic of resolving the problem and developing the aviation industry by tendering the O&M of the NAIA and other key airports in the country under the PPP program. Instead, he suggested, "The government should hasten the building of a new international airport, and invest on improving our airport facilities. It should also hire service professionals to manage these airports, and not bureaucrats who have inadequate experience to do the job."

Trillanes lamented further that privatizing the O&M will only cause undue increases in the service fees of the NAIA. He noted, "It is the obligation of the government to make sure that there is no unnecessary barrier in the air travel in the country, which may result in the escalation of airport fees due to the privatization of the NAIA."