NAIA needs complete check, not ‘power audit’ – Recto
DEPUTY Speaker and Batangas City Representative Ralph G. Recto on Wednesday said the four terminals of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) need a “complete check-up, not just power audit.”
At the same time, Recto said the needed funds for repairs should be sourced from “NAIA’s big income.”
Recto stressed this after Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) Assistant General Manager Bryan Co said that they will ask the government for a P1-billion budget to purchase power generators that will supply electricity should a power failure hit NAIA.
“Even if this light bulb moment had come too late, after the airport had been hit with electrical crashes, it should be treated as an urgent request. Every time NAIA is hit with a blackout, the nation gets a blackeye. So if the promised power system audit would validate that request, then [the] government should buy it, but not necessarily in the amount floated. Panic buying is the number one procurement sin,” Recto said.
“May pera naman kasi. NAIA is a corporate profit center for the government. It is not a charity. The gross revenues of Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA), which runs NAIA, in 2019 was P15.2 billion,” he said.
“Mula sa kita na ito, ni-remit nito ang P1.8 billion sa Treasury as national government’s share of profits. Dagdag pa ang P2.2 billion na tax payments. Kahit ganun kalaki ang kaltas, it managed to post a net income of P5 billion. Hindi lang MIAA ang kumikita sa airport operations. Tumitiba rin ang mga ahensiyang nag-oopisina sa ating pangunahing paliparan,” Recto said.
“Isang tumataginting na halimbawa – ang Travel Tax sa papaalis na Pilipinong pasahero. In 2019, it collected P7.2 billion. Napag-usapan ang kakulangan ng immigration counters, computers sa NAIA. In finding the culprit, poverty should be the last suspect. The Bureau of Immigration (BI) reported a gross income of P10.5 billion in 2019. The net income it turned over to the Treasury: P10.5 billion,” Recto said.
“Pati nga Office for Transportation Security – ‘yung tanod ng X-ray machines – ay nakalikom ng P1.1 billion sa loob ng isang taon mula sa Airport Security Fee na naka-tuck in sa airline ticket. Sabi ng Department of Transportation (DOTr), magkakaroon ang NAIA ng electrical system audit. Kung maraming sakit, bakit hindi gawing complete check-up, para malapatan ng tamang lunas?” Recto asked.
“And whatever work to be done should be submitted as one package, so the remedies will not be several ‘Band-Aid’ of cures, but a wellness package. Dahil korporasyon ang MIAA, hindi na kailangan idaan sa Congress para mabigyan ng appropriation authorization. And lastly, Secretary Jimmy Bautista has the experience and the expertise to undertake NAIA’s urgent to-do-list – the ones which are not cosmetic, but essential,” Recto said.
