MORE than a week after the debacle caused by a ‘technical glitch’ that inconvenienced thousands of passengers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Pasay City, Senator Christopher “Bong” Go called on concerned authorities to work hand-in-hand to ensure that such failure will never happen again.

During a public hearing conducted by the Senate committee on public services on Thursday, Go cited that it was admitted by transport officials that the Communications, Navigation and Surveillance System for Air Traffic Management (CNS-ATM) is working.

He stressed that just like any other equipment and software, it just needs to be maintained and upgraded.

“This is therefore not an equipment failure. We must also look into a possibility of human error or negligence as the cause of this fiasco,” he lamented.

Go underscored the importance of enhancing the country’s air traffic control, citing how a small setback can create a domino effect of not only causing harm to passengers but also adversely affecting the country as a whole.

“I agree with my colleagues that this is a serious issue that could have had grave national security implications. It is unacceptable that critical elements of the country’s transportation system could just shut down due to a damaged circuit breaker. Dahil dito, down po ang buong Philippine air space, paralyzed agad tayo,” stressed Go, who serves as the vice chair of the Senate committee on defense.

“Huwag natin ipahiya ang ating bansa. Napakalaki po ng epekto nito hindi lang sa mga pasahero kundi pati na rin sa buong bansa. May implikasyon ito sa negosyo, sa turismo at sa buhay po ng bawat Pilipino. Nagpakahirap po si Pangulong (Ferdinand) Marcos (Jr.) na makakuha ng investments mula sa ibang bansa, kaya huwag nating sayangin ang pinaghirapan natin dahil gusto nating tuluyang makabangon muli ang ekonomiya,” he emphasized.

On New Year’s Day, Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) announced that flights into and out of Manila are halted due to some technical difficulties with the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines’ (CAAP) Air Navigation Facilities.

According to CAAP, 282 flights had been either delayed, canceled, or diverted to other regional airports, affecting approximately 56,000 passengers at the NAIA.

“Huwag nating ilagay sa alanganin ang kaligtasan po ng Pilipino at ng bansa dahil sa maaaring kapabayaan ng iilan. Ayaw ko pong magsisihan tayo dito pero kailangan po ng taumbayan ng paliwanag kung ano ba ang nangyari, ano ang napabayaan, at kung sino po ang dapat managot, at ano pa ang pwede nating gawin para maiwasan ang pangyayaring ito,” urged Go.

“The government has the obligation to its citizens to explain what happened, especially to those (who) were affected. Bigyan ng paliwanag at hingin ang pagpapatawad ng mga pasaherong na-stranded, naghintay ng buong araw, at mga natulog sa airport. Ano ba ang pwedeng gawin para hindi na ito maulit?” he queried.

The senator likewise proposed to review the Air Passenger Bill of Rights and assess what needs to be improved to avoid the recurrence of the said NAIA mess. Under APBR, it mandates the passenger’s right to be compensated in case of delayed or canceled flights.

“In times like these when neither the airline nor the passenger is at fault, compensation must be provided by the government. We have a budget for this in 2023 under the Civil Aeronautics Board amounting to P147 million. So, we must ask about their plan as to where to use this budget. Kung hindi pa ngayon, saan nila planong gamitin ang budget na ito?,” Go asked.

The Senator continued his appeal to concerned national and airport officials to continue extending assistance to all of the affected passengers, saying, “The passengers who were affected must be entitled to VIP treatment during these types of unfortunate incidents.”

Go also emphasized the importance of maintaining and further enhancing technical resources especially in the country’s transportation system even citing the efforts done by the previous administration.

“Pinaghirapan po ng Duterte Administration ang pag-improve ng ating air transport system. Hindi lang itong Communications, Navigation, and Surveillance – Air Traffic Management or CNS-ATM which we started using in 2019. To decongest our airports, especially NAIA, the DOTR, led by then Secretary Tugade, constructed new airports and improved existing ones,” Go said.

“They were able to complete more than 200 airport projects, including long-delayed international airport projects and the rehabilitation of airports severely damaged by natural calamities in previous years. Kabilang na dyan ang Mactan-Cebu International Airport, Clark International Airport, Bohol-Panglao International Airport, at marami pang iba. Sana po’y hindi ito mapabayaan.

And, in fact, nahuli na nga po ang Davao City, natapos na po ang termino ni Pangulong Duterte, hindi pa po naumpisahan (yung improvement sa airport sa) Davao City,” he shared.