Fast track

Published by the Visayan Daily Star Publications, Inc.

NINFA R. LEONARDIA Editor-in-Chief & President

CARLA P. GOMEZ Editor GUILLERMO TEJIDA III Desk Editor NANETTE L. GUADALQUIVER Busines Editor CEDELF P. TUPAS Sports Editor (On Leave) RENE GENOVE Bureau Chief, Dumaguete MAJA P. DELY Advertising Coordinator

CARLOS ANTONIO L. LEONARDIA Administrative Officer

President Gloria Macapacal-Arroyo has signed into law the Civil Aviation Authority Act of 2008, creating the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), an autonomous body that in two months time will replace the obsolete Air Transportation Office (ATO), an agency that was created by a 1952 decree.

The creation of the CAAP was fasttracked in January when the Department of Transportation and Communication appealed to Congress to immediately pass the bill creating it following the US Federal Aviation Administration’s downgrading of the Philippine’s aviation safety rating to category 2 from the ideal category 1.

One of the minimum safety requirements that the FAA found lacking in the country’s civil aviation system was an updated civil aviation law and effective safety regulations, both of which should be properly addressed by the CAAP, which promises to make air travel a lot safer in this country.  According to the DOTC, the CAAP will be an autonomous body with quasi-legislative and quasi-judicial powers possessing corporate attributes.  Unlike the ATO, it will have financial independence and the power to hear and decide civil aviation cases.

It remains to be seen whether the CAAP can truly improve the safety and quality of air travel in the Philippines, but the swift replacement of the ancient ATO is a step in the right direction.  It would have been better if an FAA downgrade had not been necessary for the government to act, but at least action, no matter how late, was swiftly taken.

The extraordinary cooperation between branches of government, which resulted in the swift response to this particular problem showcased the ability of our government to react appropriately if they really put their backs toward a particular goal.

If only our government were as quick to positively react when it comes to other equally critical matters like corruption and wrongdoing, poll modernization, extra judicial killings, improving the quality of education, and a host of other issues that have been in sore need of attention for years.  Hopefully the speedy creation of the CAAP can serve as a model on how things can be done quickly and properly by the people running this country.*