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DATE

Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

Seventeenth Congress
Third Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. eres

Introduced by Representative Lucy Torres-Gomez

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Ata time when the country’s premier airport has just heaved a sigh
of relief in being delisted as the “world’s worst airport” and is still
basking under its newfound glory of being one of the “10 most improved
airports” in the world, the recent NAIA fiasco occurred.

On the evening of August 16, 2018 (a Thursday) shortly before
midnight, a Xiamen Airlines passenger aircraft landed in the midst of
heavy downpour before skidding off onto a muddy field, ripping its left
engine and blocking the runway. It took a record 36 hours before the
broken down airplane was removed, the debris cleared and airport
operations returned to normal.

In the meantime, hundreds of flights were cancelled or diverted to
other airports, stranding countless passengers and _ disrupting
occupational, business and tourism plans. The economic and social costs
to the country seem incalculable.

The simple recurring question in the runway mess and the resulting
massive disruption of airport operations was, “Why did the removal
operations of the stalled airplane at the NAIA took too long?” This was
certainly not the first time that an airplane veered away from the runway
at the airport and one could imagine that by this time mechanisms or
solutions are already in place to deal with such situations. Of course,
there is always the element of incompetence or inefficiencies in the
implementation of the standard operating procedures being followed by
airport personnel.

However, on the basis of news reports, the explanation for the mess
seems to focus on the equipment side. Airport authorities appeared to


suggest that “moving the plane was complicated by heavy rains that
softened the ground, making it difficult to install the two cranes needed to
lift the aircraft.”

Considering, however, the frequent rainfall in our country probably
brought about by climate change, we, as policymakers, are not about to
accept the intimation of our airport managers that the 36-hour aircraft
recovery period is going to be the “new normal” for such situations.
Otherwise, our main international gateway would be in danger of
“skidding” back into notoriety as the world’s worst airport.

There is therefore an urgent need to upgrade and modernize the
equipment at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport through the
acquisition of state-of-the art aircraft recovery equipment. The
technology we need exists as could be gathered from the International
Airlines Technical Pool (IATP), an association of 108 Airline Members
and 35 Associate (Supplier) Members.

In view of all the foregoing considerations, the early approval of

this bill is earnestly requested.

LUCY TORRES.
Representative
Fourth District of Leyte

EZ


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

Seventeenth Congress
Third Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. 8148

Introduced by Representative Lucy Torres-Gomez

AN ACT
MANDATING THE PROCUREMENT OF STATE-OF-THE ART
AIRCRAFT RECOVERY EQUIPMENT FOR THE NINOY
AQUINO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (NAIA) AND
APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the
Philippines in Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. The Department of Transportation (DoTr), through
the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA), is hereby mandated
to acquire state-of-the-art aircraft recovery equipment for the sole and
exclusive use of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), in

accordance with the procurement laws.

SEC. 2. The MIAA shall operate and maintain in good working
condition the aircraft recovery equipment. It shall also ensure the
availability of an adequate number of highly trained personnel who are
capable of quick and efficient recovery of stalled or damaged aircraft on
or in the vicinity of the runways of the NAIA.

SEC. 3. The amount necessary for the acquisition, maintenance and

operation of the aircraft recovery equipment shall be appropriated from


the national budget and shall be included in the annual General

Appropriations Act as part of the budget of the MIAA under the DoTr.

SEC. 4. All laws, rules and regulations inconsistent with the
provisions of this Act are hereby repealed, amended or modified

accordingly.
SEC. 5. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
publication either in the Official Gazette or in two (2) newspapers of

general circulation.

Approved,