PHILIPPINES CIVAIR: FAA MEETING WITH DEPARTMENT OF

UNCLAS MANILA 000202 SIPDIS SIPDIS SENSITIVE STATE FOR EAP/MTS AND EEB/TRA/AN FAA FOR API-1/AFS-1/AVS-1 SINGAPORE FOR FAA REP TOKYO FOR FAA CARL STROMBOM E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAIR ECON RP SUBJECT: PHILIPPINES CIVAIR: FAA MEETING WITH DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AND COMMUNICATION SECRETARY MENDOZA REF: STATE 149143 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Regional U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) representatives met with Philippine Department of Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza on January 23-24 to discuss how to improve air safety in the Philippines and regain a Category 1 safety rating for Philippine civil aviation. Mendoza was ordered by President Arroyo to take over the Air Transportation Office, after Acting Assistant Secretary Daniel Dimagiba was dismissed on January 18th. In the meetings, Mendoza focused on the passage of a new civil aviation bill (reftel) and did not seem to fully appreciate the difficulty involved in rectifying the many problems the FAA inspection report had identified. Separately, Air Transport Office Legal Office Chief Deo Deocampo expressed dissatisfaction to the FAA representatives with the foreign consultants now working there. End Summary. New CivAir Bill Rapidly Moving Forward -------------- ¶2. (SBU) The civil aviation bill (House Bill No. 3156) has now been passed by both houses of the Philippines Congress and is undergoing bicameral review before submission to the President for signature (copies of the bill have been provided to Washington agencies). Secretary Mendoza was hopeful that the bill would be signed into law SIPDIS by early February. Among other things, the bill will exempt civil aviation bureau employees from government wage scales and allow salaries high enough to retain highly skilled employees such as pilots and air traffic controllers. Mendoza said the higher salaries alone would address the majority of problems identified by the FAA, since most of the problems were caused by the inability to retain skilled personnel who could earn higher salaries elsewhere. Mendoza Will Seek FAA Assistance -------------- ¶3. (SBU) The Secretary acknowledged that time would be needed for recruitment and training of new employees, but said several of the other FAA identified problems had already been addressed, such as the need for centralized record keeping. He indicated he had the full support of Philippine President Arroyo, who had already approved a 110 million peso request for supplemental funds for staffing and personnel training at the new civil aviation bureau. Initially, he seemed at a loss to answer say anything specific about what technical assistance the Philippines needed from the FAA or from elsewhere. However, in later conversations Mendoza said he would make a formal request to the FAA to have an FAA safety advisor work with Philippine officials to help them better understand the technical measures that need to be undertaken to retain Category 1 status. ICAO Advisors Criticized -------------- ¶4. (SBU) In conjunction with the recent downgrade to Category 2 status under the FAA's International Aviation Safety Audit (IASA) program, the Philippine Government is considering hiring a private consulting firm to advise them on measures needed a Category 1 rating. Secretary Mendoza also asked for FAA's help in identifying possible private sector aviation safely consultants. Secretary Mendoza mentioned that they continue to rely on the services of five aviation specialists from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). In a separate meeting, Legal Chief Deo Deocampo expressed to the FAA representatives strong dissatisfaction with the performance of the ICAO team and indicated they were of little use in addressing identified safety deficiencies. Air Show in Singapore -------------- ¶5. (SBU) DOTC Undersecretary for Civil Aviation Edward Pagunsan plans to attend the Singapore Air Show scheduled during the week of Feb. 18. He said that, if possible, he would like to meet with senior FAA officials who will also be in attendance at the Air Show. Secretary Mendoza mentioned he would consider flying to Singapore if a high level meeting with U.S. officials there could be arranged and wondered out loud if that would be an appropriate time to make a formal request for assistance from FAA safety advisor. Plans for Major Expansion of Air Infrastructure -------------- -- ¶6. (SBU) Secretary Mendoza also briefly discussed his Department's plans to accommodate an enormous increase in air traffic in the Philippines, which involved the construction or upgrading of 35 Philippine airports. He mentioned new international airports in Iloilo and Bacolod that were world class, and plans to turn the former Clark Airfield (now called Diosdado Macapagal International Airport or DMIA) into the major international gateway for the Philippines. The Secretary said he would chair the ASEAN Transport Ministers meeting to be held in the Philippines in December where ASEAN members were expected to sign an open skies agreement between their capital airports that would greatly increase regional travel. (Note: Other Philippines officials have discussed the possibility of designating DMIA as the Philippine national capital airport in order to gain maximum advantage from this ASEAN agreement. A PRC-financed feasibility study on upgrading DMIA was rejected on December 12, 2007 for being too simple, among other reasons, and a new Korean-financed feasibility study has now begun. End note.) ¶7. (SBU) Secretary Mendoza said Japan, China, and Korea were expected to join this ASEAN aviation arrangement in the future. The Secretary described briefly the open transport arrangement already SIPDIS in effect between Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and the southern Philippines islands of Mindanao and Palawan, and noted the new Korean-financed and constructed international airport being built in Cagayan de Oro in Mindanao. Korea signed an air agreement with the Philippines last year that gives it access to all Philippine international airports. ¶8. (SBU) The FAA representatives indicated they thought that the meetings were very productive. However, they were concerned that the Philippines Government has not yet organized an effective response and action plan to the IASA to regain Category 1 status. The Senior FAA Representative offered to assist Secretary Mendoza coordinate any future requests for FAA technical assistance or possible meetings with appropriate senior FAA officials. The FAA representatives stressed the need to ask for assistance if any assistance was needed from various USG agencies. Despite the intense media coverage of the FAA downgrade over the past week, there was no media presence during or after the meetings with the Secretary, and no questions asked by reporters at other meetings. SIPDIS ¶9. (U) This cable was cleared by the Regional Senior FAA Representative Carl Strombom before he departed Manila. Kenney