Philippines bid to raise aviation standards gains support

THE Philippines’s bid to raise its standard of aviation safety to conform with requirements set by aviation regulatory bodies got a big boost from Norway, Switzerland, the European Council and the European Commission, Malacañang said yesterday.

Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr., reporting from Vientiane, Lao-PDR, said the European countries expressed their support during separate bilateral meetings President Aquino had with his counterparts at the sidelines of the Ninth Asia-Europe Meeting (Asem9) being held here on November 5 and 6.

The efforts to improve airline safety are in line with the government’s advocacy to bring in more tourists and spur economic growth.

“We said we have a stake in raising the standards of aviation considering that we want to intensify the level of aviation activity from and into the Philippines, and this is in consonance with our efforts to increase the number of tourists that will be visiting our country,” Coloma said.

Twenty-seven European countries have banned the entry of Philippine carriers into their airspace after the International Civil Aviation Organization (Icao) cited the government’s alleged failure to comply with minimum international aviation safety standards.

Aside from Icao, the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has also ranked the Philippines as a “Category 2” market because of safety considerations. This FAA grade bans local airlines from expanding operations in the United States.

“Definitely, the present restrictions on our Philippine carriers would not promote the increase of tourist traffic between Europe and the Philippines and so we would like to see an early resolution of the concerns of the Icao and similar bodies like the US FAA, which was emphasized by the President of the European Commission Juan Miguel Barroso that these are technical issues involving safety standards and not political issues,” Coloma added.

He said the aviation sector has taken note of this and was now in the process of “addressing these technical issues and we are moving positively at addressing and resolving all of these concerns.”

He said that pending the results of the assessment that were conducted in October, “we were assured that there would be every measure of support in getting the Philippines up to speed in relation to meeting the safety standards of Icao.”

The President also addressed a gathering of overseas Filipino workers (OFW) in Vientiane, the capital of Lao-PDR, apprising them of what the government has so far done under his tuwid na daan administration.

Speaking in Filipino, he said 85 percent of all the country’s citizens are now covered by health insurance, which was previously at only 62 percent.

Previously, he said four of every 10 Filipinos died without seeing a health professional.

Today, he said, an additional 23.31 million Filipinos now have access to doctors, midwives or nurses.

He added that 5.2 million more households, under the National Household Targeting System, could now also avail themselves of free PhilHealth services.

Mr. Aquino said that under this system, the poor could now be treated of ailments such as asthma, pneumonia, dengue and “catastrophic diseases” such as acute leukemia, prostate cancer and breast cancer without spending a single centavo.

The President also said that previously, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) used to be symbol of distrust because of its substandard work and overpriced projects and because it was the milking cow for those in power.

He mentioned the P111-billion bridge projects that were carried out by at least three previous administrations.

Dubbed by Sen. Sergio Osmeña III as “Bridge to Nowhere,” Aquino said about P30 billion had been set aside for these bridges to connect the various islands of the country.

He said that while the “intention was good” those behind the projects did not know where to put the bridges that they bought “prefabricated” from foreign companies. He said the projects were a headache that was passed on to his administration.

The President said he has put a stop to these irregularities although they were still being investigated. He said that under incumbent Public Works Secretary Rogelio “Babes” Singson, the previous nest of corruption is now a font of prosperity.

The President cited a new underpass built on Araneta Avenue and Quezon Boulevard. The project, started before his administration, was estimated to cost P694 million, but upon completion 100 days ahead of schedule, it cost only P430 million.

The President said the savings of more than P260 million and the P11.3-billion savings of the DPWH could now be used to fund other projects.

The President said that he inherited a big headache when he was told that the country would experience a lack of rice to the tune of 1.3 million metric tons every year.

He said that to remedy the situation, the previous administration had to import 2.5 million metric tons of the staple, which eventually rotted in some of the warehouses.

Today, Aquino said that because of the efficiency attained in the agriculture sector, the country had to import only 500,000 metric tons.

According to the President, “if we are lucky and our harvest is not damaged by typhoons,” we might be a net exporter of rice in 2013.

The President also mentioned the Framework Agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

He said he believes that the longed-for peace in Mindanao would be achieved and would become the firm foundation of progress that would eventually spread to “our Muslim brothers in the Southern Philippines.”

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