Airphil Express sets regional flights amid PAL’s labor woes

AIR Philippines, Philippine Airlines owner Lucio Tan’s budget carrier, becomes a regional airline in October, when it starts flying to Singapore following the city-state’s grant of more seats to Philippine carriers serving the Manila-Singapore route.

“There is no better choice than Singapore for our first regional route as the city-state itself is a gateway to Asia,” Bettina de Vera, the airline’s corporate communications manager, said earlier.

“Adding Singapore to our network certainly represents a major milestone in our growth.”

Singapore allowed Air Philippines and Zest Airways Inc. to mount one flight each daily to the city-state while adding 2,647 seats to the 11,200 it had previously granted to Philippine carriers serving the Manila-Singapore route.

Singapore also doubled its seat entitlements to Clark to 20,000 seats a week from 10,000, and likewise doubled its seat allocation to 10,000 a week to points outside Manila and Clark, said Carmelo Arcilla, executive director of the Civil Aeronautics Board.

“We will enforce a use-it-or-lose-it policy,” he said, adding his agency will withdraw the entitlements of those carriers not using them.

Arcilla said Singapore gave flag carrier Philippine Airlines 700 seats. The airline flies to Singapore 28 times a week and charges $250 to $800 depending on cabin class.

Budget carrier Cebu Pacific Air, which flies to Singapore 25 times a week, was given a maximum of 908 seats a day. The airline charges a minimum P4,000 on the route, and last year it flew about 375,000 passengers to Singapore and back.

Zest Air was supposed to launch flights to Singapore earlier this year, but it postponed the service to November following a delay in the delivery of aircraft to it. The carrier expects delivery of one aircraft in July and another in October, and it will use an Airbus 320 to fly to Singapore and back five times a week.

Airphil Express will also use an Airbus A-320 to mount daily flights to Singapore starting Oct. 27. The carrier started selling tickets for the route on Aug. 3, and for as low as P1,888.

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ATI DC87 near Manila on Aug 16th 2010, cargo fire indication

An ATI Air Transport International Douglas DC-8-70 combi, registration N721CX performing a charter flight from Tokyo Narita (Japan) to Singapore (Singapore) with 21 passengers and freight on board, was enroute near Manila (Philippines) when the crew reported a fire indication in the cargo compartment and diverted to Manila, where the airplane landed safely about 25 minutes later. Attending emergency services found no trace of fire, heat or smoke, the airplane subsequently taxied to the apron where the passengers disembarked normally.

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Macau Govt Tourism calls for flight to Davao

A direct flight between Macau and Davao City, in the Philippines would boost the Macau market, the general manager of the Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) in the Philippines said. Quoted by Mindanao Times, Narzalina Z. Lim called on the aviation industry and both Governments to push through the opening of this route.
Furthermore, she said, a direct flight would also allow the Mindanao island to attract a significant slice of the MSAR visitors coming to the Philippines. “Macau tourists like to frolic in beaches and you have beautiful beaches here. Those in the [island of] Samal and other areas of Davao Region are known for beautiful beaches,” Lim said.
The MGTO representative also said that the new Philippines Government is looking at the possibility of implementing “an open skies policy, or the liberalisation of the airline industry.” During a promotional campaign in Davao City, Lim said the Benigno Aquino Administration should implement this strategy as soon as possible.
If that were to happen, the negotiations to launch a direct flight would immediately take place, she assured. Both the MGTO local office and other tourism industry stakeholders in the province will join together to convince the airline industry to service the Davao City-Macau route, Lim said.
In the first half of this year more than 134,000 Filipino nationals have entered MSAR with a tourist visa, up 8 percent from the same period of 2009.
On the other hand, the MGTO executive said that in order to attract Macau visitors, Davao Region has to shed the negative publicity linked to the Muslim insurgency. Davao City is a peaceful area and it is a “misconception” that the whole island of Mindanao is troubled by this conflict, Lim explained.
Back in 2006, Air Macau spoke of launching a direct flight to Davao City, using an Airbus A320 that could accommodate 156 passengers. The flag carrier even posted billboard announcements in the Philippines announcing it would begin operations by December that year. However, the opening of the route was postponed indefinitely.

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Crisis hits Asia’s oldest airline

IT’S déjà vu for Philippine Airlines (PAL), as the flag-carrier’s management and its labor unions once more have locked horns amid one of the worst global economic downturns in decades. Strikes by cabin crew and ground personnel loom, while a growing number of pilots have flown—literally—to greener pastures, as management resorts to government intervention to break the impasse.

It is a confluence of events that threaten to send Asia’s oldest airline back to where it was in the late 1990s.

In 1998, PAL terminated 5,000 of its employees, including more than 1,400 of its cabin crew belonging to the Flight Attendants and Stewards Association of the Philippines (FASAP).

The financially strapped carrier was implementing a $4 billion expansion and re-fleeting program when the Asian financial crisis hit the company.

Following a series of retrenchment in 1998, employees went on strike and paralyzed the airline’s operations.

Cast hasn’t changed
More than 10 years later, the cast of characters hasn’t changed, with PAL management on one side, FASAP and the PAL Employees Association (PALEA) on another, and the government desperately trying to patch their differences.

The PALEA and FASAP again have threatened to hold a strike that could paralyze the airline’s operations.

The threat came on the heels of a planned spin-off of PAL’s three non-core businesses, coupled with management’s failure to appease its flight crew, which has been demanding a pay hike and the removal of a compulsory retirement policy that the union dismissed as discriminatory.

The 69-year old airline will let go of at least 3,000 employees due to the spin-off of its in-flight catering services, airport services (including ground handling, cargo terminal/cargo handling, and ramp handling) and call center reservations.

The sudden exodus of 26 pilots exacerbated the situation, forcing the airline to reduce flight frequencies to several domestic destinations.

External crisis on a global scale
Like in 1998, PAL management insists its current predicament was borne out of a similar external crisis but on a global scale, which is trying to ground the flag-carrier yet again.

This was aggravated by the continued rise in jet fuel prices, the downgrade of the Philippines’ aviation safety rating to Category 2 status by the United States Federal Aviation Administration, the European blacklist of local carriers, and cut-throat competition.

Amid such challenges, Jaime Bautista, PAL president, said the airline’s rationalization program is its lifeline to the future.

Like most airlines around the world, the flag-carrier has been affected and continues to be affected by the global recession and slowdown in travel, the executive said.

“Because of the recession, people don’t like to travel. The demand has gone down,” he said.

Bautista said PAL’s predicament is unique among Philippine carriers, since the flag-carrier has the largest exposure to the international market.

Based on contribution by route, PAL’s international flights comprised about 75.2 percent of total revenues, with the trans-Pacific route accounting for 32.6 percent, and the Asia and Australia routes another 42.6 percent.

Domestic routes comprise only 24.8 percent of total revenues.

PAL’s international passenger traffic fell by 6.4 percent to 3.38 million last year from 3.61 million passengers in 2008, whereas domestic traffic increased to 4.91 million from 4.03 million over the same period.

In contrast, leading rival Cebu Pacific’s international passenger volume rose 22.72 percent to 1.62 million in 2009 from 1.32 million passengers the year before.

Its domestic traffice also went up to 5.35 million in 2009 from 4.46 million passengers in 2008.

Erroneous fuel hedge
Bautista said an inhospitable global environment turned for the worse when fuel prices shot up.

As early as 2008, airlines around the world bore the brunt of rising fuel prices, which hit records of $130 to $150 per barrel.

But an executive with another domestic carrier said PAL’s problems started when the flag-carrier made an erroneous fuel hedge.

“It’s a lesson learned, we should manage risk better,” Bautista admitted, adding that the hedging contract will end this December.

Fuel hedging is a contractual tool some carriers use to stabilize jet fuel costs. Fuel accounts for a third of an airline’s operating cost per passenger, and is the second-highest expense next to labor.

For the years 2008, 2009 and 2010, PAL’s fuel and oil expenses amounted to P20.64 billion, P38.84 billion, and P22.36 billion, respectively.

Consequently, PAL incurred a consolidated comprehensive loss of P862.9 million for its 2010 fiscal year. This was on top of P690.3 million in 2008, and another P12.08 billion in 2009.

Under recovery
While passenger volume for both domestic and international routes began improving in the first quarter, and pricing was 10 percent better, Jose Gabriel Olives, PAL chief financial officer, said fuel prices resumed their increase.

“Even if you have an improvement in the price it wasn’t sufficient because your cost already has gone up,” he said.

Data from the International Air Transport Association showed jet fuel prices went up by 4.3 percent to $92.40 a barrel on August 6 from a week ago.

The average price of jet fuel so far this year stood at $88.3 a barrel.

To offset the increase in the cost of fuel, PAL imposes a fuel surcharge on its passengers.

But the management officials insist the carrier was still incurring “under-recoveries.”

PAL said fuel prices surged 177.9 percent to $86.64 per barrel in July from its base reference of $31.18 per barrel in 2003.

The airline said fuel cost per passenger for its US and Canada flights amounted to $301.72, but it charged only $109 for or an under-recovery of $84.14 per passenger.

PAL’s under recovery in Australia stood at $.88 per passenger; Korea, $0.23; Guam, $35.77; Singapore, $7.90; Hong Kong, $0.55 and Thailand, $6.39

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Romulo warns Aquino against hasty decision on NAIA 3 case

MANILA, Philippines - Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo advised President Aquino against deciding hastily on the case involving the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 (NAIA-3), warning the government could be at a disadvantage.

Romulo sent a memorandum to Mr. Aquino informing the Chief Executive that the Philippine government had won the case against the German firm Fraport AG and the Philippine International Air Terminals Corp. (PIATCO) before the International Chamber of Commerce-International Court of Arbitration.

Romulo said he advised Mr. Aquino to decide on the case more carefully following the legal victory.

Romulo, who also served as foreign secretary during the administration of former President Gloria Macapagal- Arroyo, was among the officials of the previous administration who disapproved the expropriation of the NAIA-3 and the payment of P3 billion to the consortium that built the airport despite the absence of a report on its structural integrity.

Romulo said these were some of his “heartbreaks” as regards the NAIA-3 case.

Arroyo’s former chief presidential legal counsel and defense secretary Avelino “Nonong” Cruz said an experts’ study on the airport’s structural integrity would come out in about one and a half or two months.

Cruz said the report would serve as a guide for the Aquino administration to determine the value of the facility.

More than anything, Romulo and Cruz stressed the government’s paramount consideration should be the safety of the airport.

Some government lawyers also stressed the legal victory of the Philippine government in the cases against Fraport AG and PIATCO, as well as in the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) by Fraport since the Supreme Court had ruled on the matter.

They pointed out that SC decisions are non-appealable and it was a bad precedent that the high tribunal’s ruling was challenged before global tribunals since it would affect even the country’s integrity before the international community.

The SC had ruled the NAIA-3 contracts were void and unconstitutional. The high court said the contracts were materially changed after the project proponents won the bidding.

Sources said Mr. Aquino had also been advised by his officials to refrain from giving credit to the Arroyo administration for the victory in the NAIA-3 case since the cases involving the project did not move or had been dismissed during its time.

A business tycoon is reportedly lobbying to have an immediate out-of-court settlement for the NAIA-3 because he had bought shares in PIATCO.

Malacañang said its officials, along with Transportation Secretary Jose de Jesus, were being briefed about the issue by lawyers involved in the international and local cases.

The sources could not reveal however, as to who among the officials in the Aquino Cabinet are in favor of PIATCO and an out-of-court settlement for the airport.

One of those who had testified for PIATCO was Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma.

Coloma had served as Transportation undersecretary during the time of former President Fidel Ramos.

But sources could not say whether Coloma is currently participating in the talks about the NAIA-3 case.

The sources revealed the lawyers who are briefing Malacañang on the issue were those who made the government win in the international tribunals, including newly appointed SC Associate Justice Ma. Lourdes Aranal-Sereno.

Those who had been fighting Fraport and PIATCO said criminal cases against those involved must also be pursued because they were blocked during the time of Arroyo.

Fraport went to the Washington-based ICSID for expropriation as it alleged that the Philippine government violated the bilateral investment treaty by not paying it justly.

But ICSID ruled in favor of the Philippine government noting the material changes made in the contracts for NAIA 3 after they were signed. ICSID also took Fraport to task for violation of the anti-dummy law.

PIATCO went to ICC in Singapore and sought to have its original contracts honored and be paid according to its own computation of the project cost.

The sources said the cases involving violation of the anti-dummy law, money laundering and others filed before the Sandiganbayan did not prosper during the Arroyo administration.

They said the NAIA-3 case was one example of how the costs of government projects could be bloated to accommodate fat commissions for the proponents and the officials who would approve it.

Malacañang gave assurance no “wheeling and dealing” would be allowed to take place in the resolution of the NAIA-3 case.

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CAB OK’s Singapore flights of 4 airlines

THE Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) last week awarded Singapore entitlements to four airlines, fielding additional flights to one of the busy destinations in the region.

The four airlines are Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific, Zest Air and Air Philippines, said CAB executive director Carmelo Arcilla.

PAL got 700 seat entitlements, which translate to four weekly flights. From 28 flights per week, the flag carrier can now mount up to 32 flights a week to Singapore.

Cebu Pacific, which flies to Singapore 25 times a week, was awarded 908 seats, equivalent to six flights a week. The Gokongwei-owned airline can now field 32 flights per week to Singapore.

Candice Iyog, Cebu Pacific vice president for marketing and distribution, earlier said the airline asked for an additional 2,520 seats for its Manila-Singapore flights to enable the low-cost carrier to add a twice-a-day flight.

“This is was what we had originally asked for. We have used up all our entitlements, whereas Air Philippines and Zest Air still have rights which they have not used,” she said.

Air Philippines, which is 99-percent owned by the Lucio Tan group, and Zest Air, formerly Asian Spirit, can now mount daily flights to Singapore after the CAB awarded each of them seat entitlements.

“We gave them seats to Singapore which will allow them to operate daily flights,” said Arcilla in a phone interview.

Zest Air was supposed to start mounting flights to Singapore early in the year but was faced with delays in the delivery of aircraft. The airline’s vice president for communications, Butch Rodriguez, said Zest Air already has entitlements to Singapore which authorizes it to mount five weekly flights. The CAB awarded it two more entitlements to Singapore.

“We were informed that their aircraft has arrived last July,” the CAB official said.

Arcilla, however, warned that the CAB would confiscate the Singapore entitlements if Zest Air will not use them in six months.

“Our use-it or lose-it policy is strictly enforced. If any of them fail to use it in six months from the award of the entitlements then we will have to get them back,” said the CAB official.

Zest Air will use an Airbus A320 to field its Manila-Singapore route.

Rodriguez said the airline would have another aircraft delivered in October.

“We intend to launch Singapore [flights] by early November. We have 90 days to market the new destination,” Rodriguez earlier said.

The amended air services (ASA) agreement with Singapore sealed in May produced 2,647 weekly seats for Philippine airlines to use for Manila-Singapore flights.

“There is really a demand for the Singapore route because the place is not only a tourist destination but also meant for business transactions or activities, and we also have overseas Filipino workers there,” added Arcilla.

The CAB is part of the Philippine air panel which negotiates for traffic rights with other countries. The other panel members include the Departments of Transportation and Communications, of Foreign Affairs, of Tourism, and of Trade and Industry, and representatives from the airline companies.

Since the start of the year the Philippine air panel has inked air pacts with Bahrain and Turkey. Up next are China, Indonesia and Hong Kong, said Arcilla.

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CA nullifies trial court order on allowances of airport workers

MANILA, Philippines - On a technicality, the Court of Appeals has quashed a lower court ruling that ordered the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) to pay employees their cost of living and amelioration allowances starting July 16, 1999.

In a 10-page decision penned by Associate Justice Amy Lazaro-Javier, the 5th division of the appellate court granted the appeal of the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) “on the ground of due process.”

It said the lower court should have dismissed outright the petition filed by the airport workers for failing to include as respondent the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).

The issue stemmed from the petition filed by the Samahang Manggagawa sa Paliparan ng Pilipinas before the Pasay Regional Trial Court in connection to a DBM directive.

Citing section 12 of Republic Act 6758 or Salary Standardization Law, the DBM issued Circular 10 mandating the integration of all allowances into government workers’ basic salaries.

The employees were given the COLA and amelioration allowance for the period July 1, 1989 to July 15, 1999.

They claimed however that these simply vanished thereafter. MIAA claimed however these were already deemed integrated into their salaries pursuant to the DBM circular.

On September 18, 2006, the Pasay court ordered MIAA to appropriate funds to pay for the allowances that had not been included in their basic salaries starting July 16, 1999.

The appellate court however said the trial court’s ruling is void, having been issued in violation of DBM’s right to due process.

“As a real party in interest, DBM stands to be injured by the judgment in the case below. It is well-settled that if a suit is not brought in the name of or against the real party in interest, it is dismissible on the ground that the complaint states no cause of action,” it said.

DBM has the right to be heard since it is the government agency tasked to enforce the law, it added.

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BI seeks protection for airport official after death threats

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has moved to protect its newly assigned airport officials after receiving reports that one of them has been receiving death threats supposedly in connection with the cleansing of the bureau's personnel.

In a phone interview with GMANews.TV on Sunday, BI officer-in-charge Rolando Ledesma said he has relayed the matter to Justice Undersecretary Jose Vicente Salazar, who heads the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking.

"Theodore Pascual, the head supervisor of the NAIA (Ninoy Aquino International Airport) Terminal 1, said he has been receiving death threats. I have conveyed this to Usec. Salazar, so that all the newly installed BI personnel in NAIA will have police protection," said Ledesma.

He said the motive for the death threats could be related to the major revamp of airport-assigned officials in relation to the worsening human trafficking problem in the country.

Ledesma said they have sacked 39 employees and suspended 23 others as part of their efforts to remove "inept and corrupt" personnel.

The US State Department has placed the Philippines on its Tier 2 rank of human trafficking cases. The country is in danger of losing some $250-million in aid from the US State Department if it does not improve in its handling of human trafficking cases by February 2011

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BI continues to rid agency of ‘inept, corrupt’ personnel

MANILA, Philippines - The Bureau of Immigration has dismissed 39 employees and suspended 23 others in an ongoing effort to rid the agency of allegedly corrupt and inept personnel.

In a press release, “these dismissal orders are already long overdue.  I have to implement them, lest we be accused of being tolerant of any wrongdoing in our bureau,” BI Officer-in-Charge Ronaldo Ledesma said.

He signed the orders last week.

The sacked employees were charged with extortion, grave misconduct, gross insubordination, neglect of duty, and conduct prejudicial to the interest of the service.

BI administrative chief Felino Quirante, Jr. said 14 of the sacked workers already had permanent statuses while the rest are confidential agents assigned to various offices.

He said 17 of the confidential agents were allegedly involved in extortion.

Those suspended, on the other hand, are mostly immigration officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

For their alleged involvement in “airport irregularities,” the officers were preventively suspended for 90 days without pay.

Changes were introduced following accusations that BI had been involved in too many controversies.

A former immigration officer earlier claimed that some of her colleagues are involved in human trafficking.

Following his designation, Ledesma immediately ordered a revamp of the agency including the recall of top immigration officers detailed at the airports.

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Clark Vetrans Cemetry not forgotten

Whilst not a strictly aviation related matter, this cemetery is located withing the Clark Freeport and a push is on to have it restored to honer the memories of those who served and rest there ..

The following is from Dennis Wright, CEO of Peregrine, a major locator and developer within the Clark Freeport Zone ..

Peregrine, in collabo ration with the local VFW Post 2485, have joined forces to try to restore the Clark Veterans Cemetery just inside the main gate. We would like to ask for your support. I am sure most of you are aware the cemetery exists, but few probably are aware of its history, and what is wrong with how it is maintained today. The web site we created has its history that you will find most interesting.

If we are successful, this cemetery would be restored to its respected and venerable setting, and clearly accent the entrance way to Clark, so there are aesthetic benefits to also doing the right thing. What follows is the text of an email we are sending to many other colleagues and friends, to ask them to sign

up as a Champion, essentially lending their name of their support. We would like to ask each of you to do the same. There are both American and Filipino’s buried there in addition to a handful of other nationals, and they deserve a proper resting place. Please take a few minutes and read the below, go on line and help us by registering as a Champion on the www.cvcra.org web site.

We need your help. We

formed a not for profit organization to help restore the Clark Veterans Cemetery, which has over 2,200 veterans and Filipino Scouts buried there. The cemetery fell through the cracks after the USAF left and the bases were transferred to the Philippines. Since 1992, the cemetery has not received any federal funds to support it. In 1994, the local VFW Post 2485, embarrassed by the deplorable condition of the cemetery after the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo, adopted it. A group of veterans in the local Angeles VFW Post 2485 took it upon themselves to volunteer their time and effort to maintain

and manage the cemetery because neither the US or Philippine government agreed to do so. The local VFW Post 2485 to this day solely administers and maintains the cemetery through voluntary efforts and support. They also administer to the 3 – 4 active burials that are occurring each and every month. Since 1994 only US veterans have been buried there, including two who died in Iraq.

Their commendable efforts have worked as a stop gap for over 16 years, however the cemetery needs much more, it needs to be transitioned to the ABMC, VA or another agency of the US Government. We formed the not for profit about a month ago, you may recognize many of the prominent Board of Director members, and the growing number of Champions who are going on line to register their support. Former Philippine-American and USN Captain Ike Puzon, has volunteered his time to help us lobby for legislative change, but we need to show numbers, we need the voices of lar

ge numbers of people demanding that the cemetery be picked up under a federal agency and maintained to the level of respect and decorum our veterans are entitled to. Attached to this email is a snapshot of but one WWII veteran buried at Clark. You can go on line at www.cvcra.org and get a full picture of the campaign, its present condition, those buried there now and what we must

do to right a wrong.

I want to ask you to get the word out to your respective memberships and networks and ask each and every one of them to do something quite simple:

1. First, log in at www.cvcra.org, review the mandate and challenge
2. Click on the Champions tab or How Can I Help icon and sign up as a Champion (It will literally take no more than one minute to register as a Champion)

We are not asking for money, we are not asking for volunteers, we are only asking people to let their voices be heard by registering to demonstrate their support and to help us convey to congress that our veterans and their sacrifices should never be forgotten. We need numbers, we need individuals to go in and register.

LET NO VET BE FORGOTTEN!

Pacific Flyer Airline Shutdown leaves Clark Freeport Locators in the Lurch

The owners and Representatives of Pacific Flyer are alleged to owe many hundreds of thousands of pesos to business located within the Clark Freeport Zone for accommodation, services, fuel, transportation, etc

With the suspension of the airline flights, it is unlikely that these business will ever get paid and it is a shame that yet another startup airline has been allowed to come into clark with poor business planning and not enough financial resources to meet its commitments

At the end of the day, the real losers are the employees of the affected companies and any future startup airline that may want to come into clark. It will only make it more and more difficult for them to get the services and support they need as all these existing businesses will be "Gun Shy" to say the least.

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Ombudsman asked: Probe Clark demolition anomalies

The board of directors of the Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) approved yesterday a resolution urging the Office of the Ombudsman to probe the demolition of 17 buildings in the Clark aviation complex.

CIAC chairman Nestor Mangio also said in an interview here that the resolution also asked for a probe on the P20 million allegedly missing from the sale of scrap materials from the demolished buildings purportedly earmarked as donation to Aeta folk.

The board also issued a resolution asking CIAC president and chief executive officer Victor Jose Luciano to go on leave pending the investigation to be conducted by the Ombudsman.

“He told me, however, that he had already filed his resignation addressed to President Aquino,” said Mangio, adding though that Luciano’s resignation would not affect the Ombudsman’s probe.

Mangio said the Ombudsman could file a case before the Sandiganbayan should its fact-finding team confirm alleged anomalies in the demolitions.

Luciano gave the go-signal for the demolitions, after Malacañang approved the requests of three Aeta groups for donation of scrap materials from the demolished buildings.

Earlier, the CIAC board’s fact-finding committee came out with a recommendation of “at the very least a reprimand” for Luciano over the controversial demolitions.

Mangio cited contractors’ estimate that the scrap materials from the demolished buildings were worth some P33.5 million. This, as an “intermediary” of the Aetas said that only P13 million went to the tribal folk.

Luciano, who authorized the demolition of 17 unused buildings here, said the fact-finding committee “did not follow due process” before it came out with its final report to the CIAC board.  

Earlier, scrap dealer Josie Gomez, who acted as an intermediary between the Aetas led by chieftain Oscar Dizon and buyers of the scrap materials, said she raised P9.5 million from the sale of scrap materials from only 11 buildings.

She claimed to have used P4.5 million of this amount for a day care center and jetmatic pumps for Aeta villages in Bamban, Tarlac, and that the rest was given in cash to the Aetas on installment basis since the demolitions started last year.

Gomez said that even earlier, she sold scrap materials worth P3.5 million from two other buildings for the benefit of the Bamban Aeta Tribal Association headed by Oscar Rivera.

Rivera, however, insisted he got only P15,000 and 100 sacks of rice from Gomez.

Another supposed beneficiary was Aeta Catalino Saplala who requested Malacañang for the use of two of the unused buildings.

Saplala, however, said he was surprised when a certain Roger from the CIAC told him that the two buildings he requested for was already demolished and had a buyer of scrap materials. He said he got only P50,000 from the deal.

The CIAC committee report also noted that Luciano failed to give a “complete accounting of all the proceeds of the sale of the 17 buildings demolished.” 

It also noted that the demolished buildings still had “commercial value” and were “economically repairable.”

Despite this, however, the CIAC board admitted that the state-run firm’s “matrix” on Luciano’s authority to make donations is silent on limitations for such acts.

Luciano insisted he did not violate the circular of the Department of Budget and Management on donations which he said covers only government agencies with funds from general appropriations.

He, however, admitted that rulings of the Commission on Audit might have been violated.

He said the fact-finding team’s estimate of the value of the scrap materials was largely “guesswork” and that he did not have any idea of their worth when he approved the demolitions.

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Pampanga Mayors League files corruption charges against Clark Airport President

QUEZON CITY - Pampanga Mayors League president Jerry Pelayo filed corruption charges before the Ombudsman Thursday against Clark International Airport Corporation (CIAC) president Jose Luciano.

Pelayo, who is also mayor of Candaba town, said Luciano could also be held liable for dishonesty and malversation of public funds or property under Article 217 of the Revised Penal Code.

The complaint stemmed from the involvement of Luciano on the alleged unauthorized and illegal demolition of 17 old warehouses inside the CIAC aviation complex.

Joining Pelayo as complainants are Angel Manalo, representing the Sta. Maria Dapdap, Mawaque Farmers Association; and Jose Paguinto, president of the Municipal Agricultural and Fisheries Council of Candaba town.

"Hinihiling ko rin kay Pangulong Noynoy Aquino na kung talagang seryoso siya na sugpuin ang korapsiyon sa ating bansa, sampulan niya itong si Luciano gaya ng lagi niyang sinasabi na kung walang korap walang mahirap," Pelayo lamented.

The other respondents in the case include CIAC officials Silverio Clemente and Ruel Angeles; Clark Development Corporation (CDC) officials Arnel Pineda and Tarcicius Tiotuyco; alleged president of the Office of the Tribal Chieftains Oscar Dizon; alleged President of the Bamban Aeta Tribal Association, Inc. (Bata) Oscar Rivera; and Josie Gomez and Antonio Castro, both private citizens.

"It was scandalous for us to find out that Luciano treated the facilities of Clark as if it were his private property," Pelayo said.

In a 12-page complaint, Pelayo narrated that Luciano caused the demolition of seventeen economically repairable and serviceable buildings owned by the government amounting to P100 million.

Pelayo claimed that "If these buildings were renovated instead, they could have been leased to locators and consequently would have brought much needed investments in the area."

It can be recalled that based on the report of the CIAC fact finding committee, demolitions were undertaken without the benefit of public biddings and without having to account to the government the proceeds thereof.

The committee report also stated that Luciano did not follow regular processes particularly in the disposal of government properties as stipulated in the guidelines of the Department of Budget and Management including the Commission on Audit.

The complainants were represented by lawyer Edna Batacan, who was assisted by lawyer Gerome Tubig.

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Ombudsman digs into Clark Airport demolitions

WHO REALLY benefited from the demolition of 17 buildings at Clark Freeport’s civil aviation complex and the sale of scrap materials?

The Office of the Ombudsman wants this question answered in sending a team to the free port last week. It wants to know if the demolition of the structures, which were used as warehouses and stockrooms of the US military from the 1970s to the 1980s in the former Clark Air Base, was tainted with anomalies.

Guided by directives from Malacañang, the 17 buildings were donated by Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) to three Aeta groups, which requested them for their livelihood and other needs from June 2009 to May this year.

But while the project looked good on paper, the actual demolition and sale of scrap materials involving millions of pesos in proceeds have divided beneficiaries and sowed suspicion of misdeeds.

A fact-finding committee headed by CIAC Chair Nestor Mangio estimated the proceeds from the sale of the scrap materials at P33.5 million. The figure was based on the 16,000-square-meter floor area and materials retrieved from the buildings.

Josie Gomez, the agent who facilitated the demolition and sale of 11 of the buildings, said the proceeds were much lower. In a recent interview, she said only P9.5 million was raised from the sale of the buildings to scrap traders.

Who got what?

CIAC records showed that the Bamban Aeta Tribal Association (Bata) received four structures, the Association of Tribal Chieftains (ATC) got 11, and the Aeta Tribal Community Vendor Group (ATCVG) received two.

But Oscar Rivera, Bata chair, said only two buildings were donated to his group. ATC president Oscar Dizon said his group received only nine.

ATCVG president Catalino Saplala was even surprised to learn that the two buildings he had requested to serve as his group’s office and vending facilities were already being demolished for scrap materials.

Gomez said some P3.5 million had been given to Bata since June last year. But Rivera said his group had received only 100 sacks of rice and P15,000 in cash from Gomez, through scrap trader Noli de Guia.

Gomez also said the ATC got a total of P6 million from the sale of scrap materials from the nine buildings donated to the group.

Dizon acknowledged receiving the P6 million, on staggered basis, since June last year. He said the money was used to build a day care center and water wells, and buy diesel-powered water pumps and tires for the 13 service vehicles of Aeta chieftains.

He said the money was also used for school allowances of some 300 students in 12 sitio (subvillages) and for buying relief goods.

Saplala, according to CIAC documents, has acknowledged receiving only P50,000 from a scrap materials contractor for the demolition of the two buildings donated to his group.

It remains unclear, however, who benefited from the demolition of the four other buildings that should have been received by Bata and ATC.

CIAC documents showed that while the estimated value of the scrap materials from the 17 buildings was P33.5 million, the items covered by receipts given to the Aeta people were valued at only P344,750 and 300 sacks of rice.

CIAC president Victor Jose Luciano earlier said he had donated the structures to the tribe in compliance with Malacañang’s directive and in “good faith.” As CIAC president, he said he has the power to donate unused property for livelihood and related purposes.

Luciano said he no longer intervened in the demolition of the structure and the sale of the scrap.

On June 22, the CIAC board reprimanded Luciano for donating the buildings without complying with the Department of Budget and Management’s rules on disposal of government property and the Commission on Audit’s Circular No. 96-003 that both require bidding or negotiated sales to ensure getting the highest value for the scrap materials.

The board asked the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel, with the assistance of the National Bureau of Investigation, to head a committee to look into the issue. On July 6, a team from the Ombudsman went to the CIAC office at the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport at the free port to start a preliminary investigation.

Alexander Cauguiran, CIAC executive vice president, said the disposal of government property worth millions of pesos should have followed existing DBM and COA guidelines.

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PACIFIC FLIER SUSPENDS CLARK-PALAU FLIGHTS

Aussie airline’s sudden withdrawal unexplained

KOROR (Palau Horizon, August 13, 2010) - Australia-based airline Pacific Flier has suspended all flights yesterday to Koror.

It is not known whether the flight service will be resumed in the future.

President Johnson Toribiong said the airline, which had only been in service for four months, cancelled all flights "until further notice."

The local agent of the airline could not explain the suspension but Toribiong said the local office had already received future bookings.

Pacific Flier started its Koror-Clark flight service in April.

It also flies to Brisbane, Australia and Guam.

The airline operated an Airbus A310-300 and had an operational base in Australia.

It said its goal was to provide an alternative airline on Palau offering cheap charter flights.

Recently, the airline had been cancelling flights. The airline initially flew three times a week to Koror from Clark, in Pampanga, north of Manila, but this was reduced to two times a week.

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Open Skies for the Philippines, who benefits?

SOMEBODY IN the Department of Tourism has been making the rounds of the top hotels in the metropolis, trying to sell a little scheme.

From what I heard, the scheme concerns this thing called “open skies policy,” which is about commercial flights of foreign airlines in the country.

Under the policy, the government will give foreign airlines all the rights to fly to and out of the Philippines.

Not only that, the foreign airlines can fly here from any country in the world, even from countries that are not the foreign airlines’ home bases.

The catch is that the Philippines will not get anything in return, except the unproven claim of some groups that the policy is good for tourism. Hmmm...

Some groups have been trying to push that policy in this country for the past 15 years, but the DOT never took part in the campaign openly.

With the change in administration, however, it seems the DOT now is taking the lead in backing that policy.

Word goes around that somebody brilliant in the DOT actually ordered the top management of hotels to organize themselves into a group to lobby for the policy.

All they have to do is, well, they need to write a letter to the genius calling for the adoption of the policy. In a way, it is a “petition.”

All the genius would do is, well, he will endorse the letter to President Benigno Simeon Aquino III.

What a scheme! And schemer! No wonder some in the hotel sector now call him “the engineer.”

NOBODY in the hotel business could as yet say whether or not the genius in DOT only wanted to use the top hotels to advance the interest of foreign airlines here.

But his selling point for the scheme was, well, it would be good for business for the hotels, since “open skies policy” would be good for tourism.

Now the policy has created a spat between its supporters and local airlines for the past several years.

You see, based on figures from the Bureau of Immigration, the number of arrivals from abroad at the Naia airport averaged some 13 million people a year for sometime now.

And how many of them were tourists? Well, according to DOT figures, the number of tourist arrivals was only three million last year.

There, we already have the airlines seats for some 13 million passengers. More than 13 million seats were already available for the so-called tourists.

Yet tourists did not account for even a fourth of the airport arrival figure.

I am not a genius but I think that tourism does not live on commercial flights alone. It is more about the interest of visitors in the destination.

Really, whenever a person plans for a holiday, his first move is not to look for the most number of flights of the most number of airlines to a certain place.

He chooses a destination, to start with, and then he chooses the airline that will take him there. Not the other way around, OK?

And so let us stop the BS about tourism as the main reason in pushing for a policy that is only good for foreign airlines.

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Philippine Airlines prepares measures to protect passengers from possible flight disruptions

Philippine Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) has lined up various measures to protect its passengers from the inconvenience that might ensue should its ground and cabin crew unions push through with their plan to go on strike.

These measures include the deployment of administrative staff and other personnel to help in case of emergency. The passengers will also be transferred to PAL's 134 interline partners12 airlines in Southeast Asia; 11 in the USA and Canada; 25 in Europe; 12 in the Middle East; 3 airlines in Japan; and 10 airlines in China -- in case of flight disruptions, PAL president Jaime Bautista said on Friday.

"As part of our conditions of carriage, we commit to our passengers that we will bring them to their destination whether through extra flights or through PAL's domestic and international interline partners," he said.

Both the 2,600 members of the PAL Employees Association (PALEA) and the 1,600 members of the Flight Attendants and Stewards Association of the Philippines (FASAP) have threatened to go on strike amidst the labor dispute pending before the labor department.

But Bautista is hopeful that the management will find a peaceful and amicable solution to PAL's labor problems, noting that they continue to talk with the union representatives.

PALEA threatened to go on strike if the PAL management pushes through with its plan to outsource its non-core units, while FASAP is pushing for a new retirement age of its flight attendants. FASAP described the compulsory 40-year mandatory retirement age currently imposed as "discriminatory" and "unreasonable."

Earlier this month, PAL canceled at least 11 of its flights due to the shortage of pilots after some 25 of them resigned from the airline for flying jobs abroad because of higher pay.

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Delivery of aviation fuel via pipeline to Manila Airport

First Philippine Industrial Corp. is in talks with the Manila International Airport Authority and three oil companies over the delivery of jet fuel to the country’s airports.

Ireneo Raule Jr., First Philippine senior vice president, told reporters here that the company, the joint venture of First Philippine Holdings Corp. and Shell Petroleum Co. Ltd. of the UK, was keen on building a 500-meter spur line connecting its pipeline to the airports.

Raule said construction of the line was estimated to cost $1 million and would lower the distribution expense of the Joint Oil Companies Aviation Fuel Storage Plant consortium.

The consortium, composed of Shell, Petron Corp., Chevron Philippines and Exxon Mobil, obtained a concession from MIAA to supply jet fuel to airports up to 2026.

“Today, jet fuel from Shell and Chevron comes from its refinery in Batangas and goes all the way to Pandacan before it is hauled to the Jocasp,” the official said.

The country’s airports have a current jet fuel inventory equivalent to only 1.5 days. The spur line project will extend the inventory level to seven days.

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Philippine Bureau of Iimmigration orders strict screening of ALL departing Pinoys

The Philippine Bureau of Immigration (BI) issued stricter measures for Filipino travelers going abroad, a move that would intensify its campaign against human trafficking.
 
Immigration officers deployed in all international ports of entry and departure nationwide have been ordered to be doubly strict in allowing the departure of Pinoy tourists.

This is in compliance with a memorandum order issued by BI acting commissioner Ronaldo Ledesma, providing for “strict departure formalities” for departing Filipinos.

The memorandum orders BI officers to be on the lookout for suspected victims of human trafficking and prevent their departure from the country.

A Filipino traveler will not be allowed to leave if he or she is “undocumented, improperly documented and incompletely documented.”

According to Ledesma, the new policy is also in line with the provisions of Republic Act 9208 or the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003, which mandates the meticulous screening of travel papers and pre-departure requirements of traveling overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

Ledesma explained that the same act also provides for stricter departure formalities for fiancés and spouses of foreigners and requires travel clearances from social welfare authorities for traveling unaccompanied minors.

“Thus, the individual right to travel may be regulated by the BI whenever immigration officers detect a human-trafficking situation,” Ledesma said.

BI revokes previous order

Meanwhile, Ledesma also revoked a previous memorandum order issued in 2007 which relaxed the BI’s policy on departing Filipino travelers.

Arvin Santos, BI airport operations division chief, said the revoked memorandum directs immigration officers to allow the departure of a Filipino if he or she has a valid passport, visa and a return ticket when required.

Santos stressed that the memorandum was revoked because it is irrelevant and ran counter to the objectives of the government’s ongoing drive against human trafficking.

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Ride a spy plane. See the world at 30,000, 40,000, 50,000, 60,000 and finally at 70,000 feet.

Ride a spy plane.  See the world at 30,000, 40,000, 50,000, 60,000 and finally at 70,000 feet.  

From 70,000 feet you look down 35,000 feet at a jetliner passing below at its normal cruising altitude of 35,000 ft.
Turn up your sound and expand your picture.  Only the International Space Station is higher.  Really awesome...

http://www.wimp.com/breathtakingfootage
This video is a once in a lifetime experience of a British civilian getting a flight at over 70,000 ft. in a U-2 spy plane.  Please note at the take-off the assist wheels on the outer edges of the wings which drop off upon take-off.   The wings are so long that they need temporary support until lift-off.  What is not shown is at the landing the plane actually slows to a small enough speed that two guys are actually able to grab the wing tips and put those assist wheels back on.

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