Sen. Grace Poe on Sunday asked Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) director general Manuel Antonio Tamayo to inhibit himself from the ongoing investigation of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) air traffic fiasco to ensure an impartial scrutiny of the incident.
Saying that CAAP cannot be investigating itself, Poe hopes an independent body will be formed to look into the incident.
“Definitely, Captain Tamayo cannot sit there and all those under him,” Poe said in a radio interview Sunday.
Poe also said Department of Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista can perhaps lead the investigation.
The senator said former CAAP director general William Hotchkiss and a representative from the country’s association of civil aviation engineers could be included in the independent body that will look into the air traffic fiasco.
Senator Francis Tolentino meanwhile urged the leadership of the CAAP to take advantage of a specific treaty that would help modernize the country’s existing air traffic control system.
Tolentino was referring to the 1944 ChicagoConvention on International Civil Aviation (ICAO), particularly under Article 70, in which signatory countries including the Philippines—may seek assistance from the ICAO council to fully finance the upgrade of existing air navigation facilities, without paying a single centavo.
He noted that the country’s transportation officials only need to prove to the international body that existing facilities “are not reasonably adequate for the safe, regular, efficient, and economical operation of international air services, present or contemplated,” as stated in Article 69 of the 1944 pact.
Earlier, the CAAP said it has launched an internal investigation into the New Year’s Day technical glitch at the NAIA which canceled flights and stranded thousands of passengers.
Asked if the CAAP head should resign or take a leave, Poe said that the fate of Tamayo is up to the DOTr chief.
The Senate public services committee led by Poe earlier held an inquiry on the incident, but the panel could not yet make a conclusion.
While the investigation is ongoing, she said she expects the work to continue in the airport’s air traffic equipment to avert a repeat of the fiasco and ensure passengers’ safety and convenience.
Poe said the government should also consider raising the salary of the country’s air traffic controllers, whom she thanked for initiating communication with other control towers to inform them of the development at the NAIA.
Tolentino also said Article 71 of the ICAO Convention states that: “If a contracting State so requests, the Council may agree to provide, man, maintain, and administer any or all of the airports and other air navigation facilities including radio and meteorological services, required in its territory for the safe, regular, efficient and economical operation of the international air services of the other contracting States.”
The senator advised CAAP officials present during the Senate inquiry to submit an initial communication with the ICAO secretariat—informing the council’s secretariat of an ongoing probe following the January 1, 2023 incident and a copy of the final report will be submitted to them by the end of the month.