PHL urged to separate powers of airport regulatory, dev’t agencies

THE regulatory and operations and maintenance functions of air transport authorities need to be separated to ensure the efficiency and competitiveness of air transport, the Joint Foreign Chambers (JFC) of the Philippines said.

In a policy brief issued by the JFC’s advocacy arm, the Arangkada Philippines Project, the JFC cited the need “to provide linkages where there should be convergence and to de-couple where there should be independence” to ensure adequacy of infrastructure and safety.

“More specifically, there is a need to provide greater coherence and convergence among entities undertaking airport development and their implementation and separate regulatory and developmental (i.e., operations and maintenance) functions, which are currently in singular entities,” it added.

It pointed to the need to make the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) conform with international protocols, reinstate its fiscal autonomy, and delink its developmental, proprietary, and investigation functions.

“Such division is crucial for streamlining operations, enhancing safety, and ensuring that Philippine airports meet global standards,” it said.

The policy brief recommended the amendment of Republic Act (RA) 9497 to reinstate CAAP’s fiscal autonomy and exempt its personnel from salary standardization requirements.

It said that the agency’s fiscal autonomy was removed by RA 10149, which required CAAP, along with other government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs), to declare and remit dividends to the National Government.

“(RA 10149) also removed the exemption from salary standardization regulations applicable to GOCCs, resulting in standardized, and less competitive, salaries for technical staff. This made it harder to attract and retain skilled aviation workers,” it added.

The policy brief supported the reclassification of highly technical positions into higher salary grades and exempt CAAP from the obligation to remit dividends to the National Government.

“To protect against future implied repeals of RA 9497, the proposed legislation should incorporate a clause requiring that all future repeals or amendments must be explicit, thereby prohibiting implied repeals,” it added.

As of August, a bill seeking to amend RA 9497, — Senate Bill 1003 — remained pending at the Senate.

The brief also recommended the creation of a Philippine Airports Authority to take over airport development, which will allow the CAAP to focus solely on regulatory oversight, thus enhancing safety and efficiency.

“Section 78 of RA 9497 mandates CAAP to be responsible for the planning, development, construction, operations, maintenance, or expansion of airports. As a technical regulator, CAAP also regulates facilities that it develops and operates,” it said.

“This creates inefficiencies and conflicts of interest,” it added.

It said that transferring the developmental functions to a new entity will provide CAAP with greater flexibility to focus on its regulatory function.

Bills on the delinking of CAAP functions, such as House Bill 02234 and Senate Bill 1073, are still pending in Congress.

Meanwhile, the brief also recommended the creation of a Philippine Transportation Safety Board (PTSB), which will conduct objective investigations into aviation incidents to improve accountability and transparency.

“The current approach to transportation and passenger safety and investigation is fragmented and lacks independence. Transport agencies perform multiple and conflicting functions as regulators, operators, and investigators,” it said.

It said that the creation of the PTSB will help improve transportation safety measures and ensure the implementation of transportation safety standards.

“The proposed body shall be a non-regulatory and autonomous agency and shall be the primary agency responsible for the conduct of impartial and forensic evidence-based investigations on the causes of transportation-related accidents and incidents,” it added.

The creation of the PTSB is covered by Senate Bill 1121 and House Bill 01801, which are both pending.

The JFC also sought the modernization of the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1952 to position the Civil Aeronautics Board as an independent economic regulator that will prioritize consumer protection.

“As the ownership of airports changes from public to private hands, economic regulation may become more necessary to ensure airport service pricing promotes the welfare of airport users,” it said.

“The proposal is to integrate airport economic regulatory functions in the CAB mandate,” it added.

Aside from decoupling regulatory and developmental functions, the policy brief also recommended the upgrade of more gateways, prioritization of investments in national aviation safety management systems, and combating illegal charters.

It also sought the ratification of the Cape Town Agreement, the institution of incentives for the aviation industry, and investments in human capital development and sustainability. — Justine Irish D. Tabile