Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 11) — A lawmaker on Wednesday said the New Year’s Day technical issue at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) is both an issue of equipment and competency after airport authorities admitted that a problem with the circuit breaker caused the mess.
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“Nakakapagtaka ‘yan na wala silang foresight. Kung talagang maayos ‘yung kanilang maintenance, ‘yung kanilang pagche-check dito mga equipment, including ang sources ay hindi dapat nangyari ito. Talagang may kakulangan tayo sa maintenance at pagche-check,” ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro told CNN Philippines’ The Source.
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[Translation: It’s puzzling how they do not have foresight. If they really have sound maintenance, their checking of equipment including sources this should not have happened. We really lack maintenance and checking.]
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She also questioned why it took a long time before authorities knew that the circuit breaker was the issue and not the uninterruptible power supply (UPS) as initially said.
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The lawmaker said she asked during Tuesday’s hearing if the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) has enough experts to look into the system, but it was revealed that many of the top professionals opt to work abroad due to higher salaries.
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“There should be enough budget for the maintenance, for the experts, ‘yung ating mga (our) technician, that’s why we are also looking for their budget, so that in the future there should be enough budget, say for example alternative equipment,” Castro pointed out.
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While she agrees it is time to purchase new equipment to prevent the same incident that caused ₱100-million in losses for airlines alone, Castro said CAAP and Transportation officials responsible for the issue should be held accountable.
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