MANILA, Philippines – Department of Transportation and Communications (DoTC) Secretary Jose de Jesus said Wednesday the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) will stand by its controversial resolution appointing seven key officials to the agency despite the decision’s supposed relation to the delay of the scheduled safety audit of the Philippine aviation industry next month. De Jesus, who is concurrently the CAAP chairman, said the CAAP Board of Directors has only exercised its legal authority to appoint officials of the agency when it unanimously voted to appoint Ramon Gutierrez as deputy director general for administration, Napoleon Garcia as deputy director general for operations, Wilfredo Borja as assistant director general for Air Traffic Services, Andrew Basallote as assistant director general for Air Navigation Services, Edgardo Costes as assistant director general for Aerodrome Development and Management Services, Wilson Mirabona as assistant director general for Aerodrome Development and Management Services, and Andres Laurilla as assistant director general for Civil Aviation Training Center.
CAAP director general Alfonso Cusi on Tuesday disclosed that CAAP board’s resolution dated Nov. 2 influenced the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to postpone its Coordinated Validation Mission (ICVM), initially scheduled for Dec. 7-10, to an indefinite date.
The scheduled ICVM is paramount to the CAAP and DoTC’s goal for the Philippine aviation industry to redeem its category 1 status on the international aviation rating. The upgrade will allow Philippine air carriers to operate again in Europe, the US and other destinations.
But De Jesus junked Cusi’s correlation saying “the recent appointments were made precisely to cure one of the major deficiencies in the CAAP which is lack of qualified technical personnel.”
When asked what action the CAAP Board of Directors will undertake in view of the indefinite postponement of the ICAO safety audit, De Jesus declined to comment, saying he has not seen the ICAO letter yet.
Earlier, DoTC Undersecretary Dante Velasco defended the appointments being opposed by Cusi, saying the seven executives “bring to their jobs a wealth of experience and expertise that are precisely needed to bring the Philippine aviation industry to the next level.”
“These newly appointed executives are precisely aviation professionals in the highest order and therefore meet the requirements of the ICAO. Gone are the days when non-aviation people were appointed to critical posts in aviation. They have just been replaced by air sector experts,” Velasco added.
Kris Bayos, Manila Bulletin
