JV

JV wants gov’t control of public utilities vital to nat’l security

January 11, 2023 Camille P. Balagtas 208 views

SENATE Public Services Committee Vice Chairperson Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito opposes the proposal to privatize the country’s premier airport, saying that public utility services vital to national security must only be controlled by the government.

“I think what opened during the fiasco should be an eye-opener for us. But when we talk about utilities concerning national security, I’m still thinking that it should be under government control,” he said in an interview.

Ejercito warned that the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), the country’s main international gateway, could suffer the same fate as the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), a power transmission operator that was privatized in 2009.

Around 40 percent of the NGCP’s stakes are owned by the State Grid Corporation of China.

“We know for a fact that we have a dispute with China. But with what happened at the airport, with one instance, it can paralyze the whole airspace system. Air traffic froze for several hours. So, with one flick, we can be paralyzed without electricity,” he said.

“We have to know what vessels or aircraft are entering our airspace, especially [since] we have a dispute right now,” he added.

While he is open to proposals seeking to place the NAIA under a public-private partnership, maintaining and enforcing government oversight should be given priority.

“It would be more amenable for me to make it more professionalized and to ensure that operations are more efficient,” Ejercito said.

“But I think the government has to be there to oversee because, again, I’m more concerned about national security,” he added.

A sudden glitch with the system downed more than 3,000 inbound and outbound flights throughout the country and affected around 65,000 international and domestic passengers on New Year’s Day.

Three days after the incident, Ejercito filed Senate Resolution No. 400, directing the Senate Committee on Public Services to conduct an investigation into the said fiasco and produce recommendations to strengthen the country’s aviation industry.

The said panel is set to hold its first probe on the incident on January 12.