Aviation Safety Raised with Transport Secretary

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 MANILA 004421 SIPDIS Sensitive STATE FOR EAP/PMBS STATE ALSO PASS USAID FOR AA/ANE and AA/G TREASURY FOR OASIA TRANSPORTATION FOR FAA SINGAPORE AND TOKYO FOR FAA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAIR PGOV EINV RP SUBJECT: Aviation Safety Raised with Transport Secretary REF: A) Manila 3760 B) Manila 3838 C) Manila 3955 Sensitive but Unclassified - Not for Internet - Protect Accordingly. -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. (SBU) During the Charge's call, Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) Secretary Mendoza addressed concerns on aviation safety, pledged continued support for transportation security initiatives, and expressed commitment to infrastructure construction. Mendoza admitted that the 40% or 300- person shortfall in air traffic controllers was "dangerous" and said he had asked President Arroyo to fund an additional 150 controllers. The long-stalled aviation bill would provide a permanent solution to staffing shortages and salary concerns by allowing an independent civil aviation authority to determine spending needs. Mendoza said a local firm had agreed to buy out the German investor in the new airport terminal, paving the way for its completion and opening. Japanese contractors had agreed to finish and refurbish the terminal by early 2006; the government would be the operator. Mendoza did not oppose negotiating an Open Skies agreement, but did not appear convinced there were clear benefits for either side. End Summary. -------------- Air Traffic Controllers Under Control -------------- ¶2. (SBU) In a meeting with Charge September 12, Department of Transportation and Communication Secretary Mendoza admitted that budget constraints and emigration have led to a 40% deficit in the number of air traffic controllers (ATC) needed to sufficiently staff all airports. He is trying to address this 300-person shortfall by bringing in 40 ATCs from the Philippine Air Force. Mendoza recognized that having the ATCs work overtime to make up the deficiency is "dangerous" so other solutions eventually must be found. He said he wrote a letter to the President asking for a supplemental budget to hire 150 new air traffic controllers, even if he must forego infrastructure funds. In particular, the country needs additional ATCs to manage the new radar system recently installed at the international airport at Clark. According to Mendoza, following his appeals to their patriotism, ATCs for now are not planning any strikes or work slowdowns (ref a-b). ¶3. (SBU) Mendoza believes Congress should expedite passage of the Civil Aviation bill to resolve this issue. The Philippines is one of the few countries in the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) without an independent Civil Aviation Authority (CAA),he noted. The Civil Aviation bill would allow the Air Transportation Office (ATO),which earns twice as much as it spends, to hire and pay controllers from its own revenues. Mendoza said that under a restructuring plan, the government would downsize some DOTC divisions but would increase the size of the ATO to meet international standards of aviation. At present, the government is constrained by its salary standardization scheme that keeps controller salaries at less than 10% of their counterparts in other countries. He said that nobody should be surprised that many newer and younger controllers try to emigrate. In response to the Charge's question, Mendoza said there was no direct opposition to the bill, but Congress has not treated it as a priority. ¶4. (U) ATCs serve seven international and fifteen domestic airports in total, Mendoza said. The airport that needs more staff is Clark, which is becoming the "new gateway" to the Philippines. It currently serves 37 flights with 22,000 passengers each week. He expected the number of flights to increase to 50 per week by October. Clark serves the new discount airlines bringing in less affluent tourists from Korea, Taiwan, Hong-Kong, and Macau. They may choose to stay at gambling and golf resorts at Clark, connect by plane to Palawan, Cebu, and Bohol, or shuttle to Manila by car on the tollway. -------------- Terminal Completion Underway -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Mendoza confirmed that the Manila Hotel Corporation (MHC) had purchased all the shares of the German investor Fraport in the new airport terminal at Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila (ref c). He said despite proposals by private sector firms, the government has decided to operate the new terminal, though "maybe in time" the GRP would privatize the operation. Mendoza said he understood the MHC's agreement with Fraport and the Philippine International Airport Terminal Company (PIATCO) called for the cancellation of arbitration involving the GRP initiated in Washington, D.C. and Singapore that sought "just compensation." He said he had not seen a copy of the agreement. Mendoza said the government signed a contract with Japanese contractor Takenaka last week to finish the construction and refurbish the new terminal's computer systems. The contract is subject to the court's approval, but the DOTC already received clearance from the Supreme Court to fund the construction, so Mendoza did not foresee any problems moving forward. The DOTC received a loan from the Development Bank of the Philippines to fund the project. Mendoza also suggested the government could withdraw unused funds from an ADB loan for this purpose. ¶6. (SBU) Mendoza said the new terminal would be ready to open in four months. He expected the government to start signing lease agreements with the airlines for space in the new terminal. According to Mendoza, the owner of Philippine Airlines (PAL),Lucio Tan, visited the new terminal site for the first time recently, was favorably impressed, and agreed to move PAL international operations to NAIA Terminal Three. Eventually, the government plans to relocate all international flights to Terminal Three, move all domestic flights to Terminal Two, close Terminal One, and build a Terminal Four for Philippine Air adjacent to Terminal Three. -------------- No Lift-off for Air Transport Talks -------------- ¶7. (SBU) As chairman of the panel responsible for aviation negotiations, Mendoza said that he recently wrote a letter to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) requesting another round of talks. Now that the cargo carriers have their Open Skies agreement, future negotiations should focus on "more services and points of entry" for passenger flights. Despite the Charge's explanation that the US does not allow cabotage (domestic service by a foreign carrier),Mendoza said he hoped the US would allow Philippine air carriers to fly passengers beyond original points of entry in Guam and Honolulu to final destinations at other US cities. -------------- Support for Port Security -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Charge complimented the DOTC for its cooperation in transportation security areas, including its support for a US Department of Energy "Megaports" program in Manila to screen for nuclear materials. Mendoza noted that the Philippines has a fledgling Office of Transportation Security (OTS) modeled after the US Transportation Security Administration with the Department of Homeland Security. OTS Undersecretary Cecilio Penilla, who joined the meeting, praised efforts by the US Transportation Security Agency (TSA) to encourage compliance among airport officials with international standards. He admitted, for example, that Philippine culture normally disallows security checks of VIPs, but this attitude is changing, in large part because of training of investigators and quality control screeners through TSA. Penilla also told the Charge his office had achieved 70% compliance under the STAR Initiative, which aims to enhance security while increasing trade among APEC countries by protecting cargo, ships, planes, and people in transit. The OTS embraces security issues and has fully applied the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code to domestic shipping. ¶9. (SBU) Charge noted that President Arroyo has indicated that she is prepared to sign the Proliferation Security Initiative. Penilla said OTS supports the initiative and is coordinating with the DFA to work out the language for the Letter of Agreement. -------------- Telecom Progress and Digress -------------- ¶10. (SBU) In response to the Charge's query on moving the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) back under the supervision of DOTC, Mendoza demurred that it was not his area. When pressed, he argued that the move will have little impact on the NTC. He said there is confusion regarding supervisory authority already since the NTC is a regulatory body that already reports to another regulatory body - the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT). The operational side of NTC will remain under CICT, he said, but DOTC will oversee the administration. Mendoza said the GRP will conduct competitive bidding for 3G frequency band licenses soon, but he expected domestic telecom companies, faced with international competition, to seek a temporary restraining order. ¶11. (SBU) Regarding both the recent promotion of Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) and the upcoming 3G licensing tender, Mendoza said there is great excitement among families with overseas foreign workers (OFW) about the expected reduction in international phone charges. Mendoza said some Philippine OFWs in Hong Kong spend 30% of their salaries on phone calls home. Mendoza said the Philippines welcomes US companies to participate in this sector, especially because they operate "above board" with no strings attached. The telecom industry is booming, with 32 million subscribers already. -------------- Rolling out the Roads and Rails -------------- ¶12. (U) Mendoza noted that the Arroyo Administration considers the Roll-On, Roll-Off (RoRo) or "nautical highway" system very successful. Since implementation, the cost of commodities has dropped 30-40% and tourism has increased to 18,000 passengers per day. Mendoza noted that a trip to Boracay Island now costs $13 using the public bus system and RoRo. ¶13. (U) Mendoza said the Subic-Clark highway construction is already underway; projects to widen the Southern Luzon Expressway and connect it to the port in Batangas should be completed by 2010. Work on the North Rail stalled over the relocation of "squatters," estimated in the hundreds of thousands, but Mendoza expects to settle this issue soon so work can continue. In the future, the urban rapid transit lines, the North Rail, and the National Railroad will all meet at a rail terminus in Manila. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶14. (SBU) Although Secretary Mendoza was frank and informative, he did not completely dispel our concerns on aviation safety. Even if the funding request for additional air traffic controllers is approved, the Philippines would still have 150 fewer ATCs than necessary, even fewer if attrition continues because it takes many months to train new controllers. Secretary Mendoza appeared overly optimistic on the new airport terminal as well. Airlines will be unwilling to relocate and risk interrupting business during the upcoming peak travel season (December - April),pushing the start up date to mid-year 2006 at the soonest. The incorporation of NTC back into the DOTC could set back liberalization of the telecommunication sector with VOIP and 3G technology. ¶15. (SBU) In view of Mendoza's characterization of the ATC shortage as "dangerous" and other discussions with GRP officials (refs A and B),post continues to work with regional FAA officers to monitor safety issues to ensure that the Philippines is meeting International Civil Aviation Organization standards. Johnson