Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 2) — The Office of the Ombudsman has issued a preventive suspension against Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) acting general manager Cesar Chiong over allegations of grave abuse of authority and grave misconduct.
MIAA acting assistant general manager Irene Montalbo was also suspended by Ombudsman Samuel Martines. She and Chiong are both accused of grave abuse of authority, grave misconduct, and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service.
The suspension order, which is unrelated to the May 1 power outage at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) that affected thousands of passengers, stemmed from a complaint of anonymous MIAA officials regarding Chiong’s reassignment of around 285 MIAA employees.
“Barely a month from his assumption, he started the reassignment of MIAA employees. Sworn statements gathered from the reassigned employees would reveal that they were neither informed of the reason for their reassignment nor did they have pending administrative complaints,” read the order dated April 28.Chiong was appointed as MIAA acting general manager and member of the MIAA board of directors on July 19, 2022.The Ombudsman added that Chiong abused his authority when he designated Montalbo as assistant general manager for finance and administration despite her unsatisfactory rating in 2020.“Montalbo cannot deny her participation in the reassignment of MIAA employees because, as the designated Assistant General Manager for Finance and Administration, it is her function to advise the General Manager in the formulation and implementation of administrative matters,” the Ombudsman said.“Based on the evidence on record, it appears that the evidence of guilt of the respondents are strong and the charge against them involve Grave Misconduct which may warrant their removal from the service,” he added.Chiong and Montalbo are suspended without pay for up to six months.In a statement, Chiong expressed confidence that he will be cleared of the charges after he is allowed to present his side, saying that his reassignment of the MIAA employees is a part of his “vision and plan to improve airport efficiency and the financial standing of the authority.”“The country’s main airport faces extremely difficult challenges, and we have started to implement plans and programs that aim to enhance passenger experience at our country’s main gateway,” Chiong said, as he claimed that MIAA’s finances also increased under his 9-month helm.CNN Philippines is also seeking comment from Montalbo.
The entire Philippine airspace will be shut down for six hours on May 17 due to maintenance activities at the Air Traffic Management Center following the recent Labor Day power outage and New Year’s Day technical glitch at the NAIA.
