Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza yesterday said he welcomes a Senate investigation into the downgrading of the Philippine civil aviation by the United States Federal Aviation Administration, saying he hopes it will lead to the swift approval of a law creating a Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines .

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo yesterday designated Mendoza the new head of the Air Transportation Office in a concurrent capacity, replacing Daniel Dimagiba.

The President has given Mendoza three months to address the administrative and technical issues on the passage of the CAAP bill in Congress, her spokesman Ignacio Bunye said.

The US Federal Aviation Administration, the US aviation watchdog, has downgraded the country's aviation ratings from Category I to Category 2 along with countries like Bangladesh , Ivory Coast , Ghana , and Indonesia .

"The issue of the downgrading is the issue of the capability of the Air Transportation Office, which can only be resolved with finality through the creation of Civil Aviation Authority that can provide the system, structure and the mandate required by the International Civil Aviation Organization," Mendoza, who is in Negros Occidental for the opening of the New Bacolod-Silay Airport today, said.

The ATO has an average annual revenue of about P3 billion, which is more than enough to address the capability problem of ATO, both in qualified technical personnel, equipment, maintenance and operating expense, including maintenance of the existing airports, but it does not have the financial authority to allocate the funds according to its needs and priorities, Mendoza said.

With the enactment into law of the CAAP bill, the ATO can get exemption from the government salary standardization program and can provide competitive pay for civil aviation technical inspectors and personnel, Mendoza said.

At present the safety officers and inspectors and other technical personnel of ATO, such as the air traffic controllers, are still receiving a monthly salary of about P18,000.00, while their counterparts in other countries are receiving a minimum of US$ 3,000.00 monthly salary, he told the DAILY STAR.

The check pilots of the ATO are receiving a maximum monthly remuneration of P25,000, while their local counterpart – those who are employed by domestic airlines – are receiving a minimum monthly salary of about P180,000. In Middle East countries, they are receiving about US$10,000.00 a month, he said.

"We continuously recruit these aviation safety officers, but we eventually lose them because of low pay," Mendoza said.

That is why the Department of Transportation and Communication welcomes a Senate investigation in aid of legislation and along with its other agencies will actively participate in the inquiry, he said.

This will enable the DOTC to push for the enactment the bill for the creation of the CAAP and other bills pending in Congress related to transportation safety and security, Mendoza said.

The Philippines , a member of ICAO, is one of the very few countries which still has a regulator that does not have independence and fiscal autonomy, he said.

The ATO is still governed by Republic Act No. 776, otherwise known as the Civil Aeronautics Act of the Philippines, which is now outdated, Mendoza said.

Aside from the CAAP bill, there are other bills pending in Congress, like the bill for the creation of the Philippine Transportation and Security Administration which is a requirement of the International Civil Aviation Organization and the International Maritime Organization, he said.

The bill has not yet been passed despite its filing and re-filing in Congress, he said.

"Right now we only have an interim organization that addresses transportation security, the Office for Transportation Security, which was created through Executive Order 311," Mendoza said.

"The Philippine Coast Guard bill, which is required by the IMO, has also been filed and re-filed in Congress but still remains pending," he added.

Mendoza said the DOTC has drafted for filing with Congress a bill for the creation of the National Transportation Safety Board.

This bill aims to create an independent transportation accident investigation organization. It also aims also to adopt recommended standards and necessary measures to prevent the occurrence of transportation related accidents. Other major countries in the world have this independent investigative body, Mendoza said.

Another bill which is being drafted by the DOTC is the Philippine Merchant Shipping Bill that will cover maritime shipping (domestic and international), seafarers, and shipbuilding and other maritime transportation concerns, he said.

"Despite our being a maritime country, we have no maritime law that covers all the concerns in the maritime sector," Mendoza said, adding that the Philippines was able to avail of a grant from Norway to come up with a law.

Republic Act 4136, enacted in June 1964, otherwise known as the Land Transportation and Traffic Code, is already antiquated and needs amendment, he said.*CPG

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