THE Governance Commission for GOCCs (GCG) held an on-site inspection at the air traffic management facility of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) at MIA Road, Pasay City.

The inspection is to ensure that the Philippine Air Traffic Management System’s (ATMS) management is operating functionally, safely, and reliably.

The CNS/ATM system provides various computer-aided safety measures in Air Traffic Control (ATC) and enhances safety through reduction of controller/pilot workloads and human errors.

The GCG, together with CAAP’s officials, conducted the on-site inspection at the ATMC’s control room, and equipment room, where the said unexpected technical glitch transpired, and at a very small aperture terminal (VSAT), where a set of satellite dishes used to link communication and surveillance facilities nationwide are located.

The activity is a part of the evaluation the GCG will be undertaking for the Scorecard of CAAP in connection with the technical glitch that occurred on New Year’s Day (January 1), where hundreds of flights in the country were canceled, diverted, and/or delayed.

The GCG has already given CAAP three days to submit a report to the commission.

According to GCG Chairperson Alex Quiroz, as “partners of CAAP in national development and public service,” CAAP’s report will aid in determining how the GCG may support CAAP to ensure that the New Year’s Day fiasco will not happen again.

Also, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and CAAP were deemed transparent and cooperative in providing information on the country’s air traffic management following an inspection Monday (January 9.)

DOTr Undersecretary for Aviation Roberto Lim and CAAP Director General Manuel Antonio Tamayo accompanied GCG Commissioner Gideon Mortel in showing the facilities in the Philippine Air Traffic Management Center at the CAAP compound in Pasay City.

“They are very open, very transparent. We were led [through] the entire process of it. From the Control Room, we went to the Equipment Room, the VSAT, so the entire facility was shown to us,” Mortel said during an inspection of the facility.

Mortel added that the two agencies are cooperative in sharing the needed information about the incident that transpired on January 1, 2023, adding that DOTr and CAAP officials were provided the needed information vital to the GCG’s investigation.

Lim said the government aims to strengthen the country’s air space and protect Filipino aviation experts such as air traffic controllers and technicians.

“Ang objective is to keep the Philippine sky safe, protect the careers of our experts so they are not subject to poaching by other countries,” Lim said.

Meanwhile, Tamayo said CAAP’s Communications, Navigation, and Surveillance/Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM) System undergoes regular and routine checks, explaining that the January 1 incident was “unfortunate.”

“We didn’t want to have this (technical glitch). It could happen anytime, anywhere in spite of maintenance procedure, in spite of proficiency and qualifications of our technicians,” Tamayo explained.

The GCG, as GOCCs’ central advisory, oversight, and monitoring body, is responsible for monitoring and evaluating the operations of GOCCs to guarantee that GOCCs are transparent and responsive to the needs of the public.