Senate probe on CAAP glitch set on January 12, says Poe
The Senate probe on the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines’ (CAAP) glitch in its air traffic management system is set next week, Senator Grace Poe said Wednesday.
“We can conduct hearings even during the (Congressional) break. I intend to call for a hearing on Thursday, January 12, allowing CAAP and DOTr (Department of Transportation) to normalize airport operations before conducting a hearing,” said Poe, chairperson on the committee of public services, in her Twitter account.
“By that time, key executives should have no excuse not to attend,” she added.
At least 60,000 passengers were affected as around 284 domestic and international flights were not allowed to leave or arrive at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport after a system glitch in the air navigation facilities of the CAAP.
For her part, Senator Risa Hontiveros filed a resolution seeking to investigate the system glitch.
In Senate Resolution No. 401, it is important to determine who the private contractor is to see if there was a “violation of performance guarantee” based on the documents from the Commission on Audit in previous years.
The supposed “funding delays” and “possible corruption” in the installation of the system should also be investigated, Hontiveros added.
Hontiveros said she also wants to see how the gap between the initial negotiations on February 2010 and the inauguration in 2018 of the air navigation system may have affected air control operations.
The alleged diversion of P13 billion that was allocated for the air traffic system upgrade to projects under the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte, must also be probed, including the possibility of negligence and human error should also be questioned, she said.
“Given these competing claims, a thorough investigation must be undertaken to identify both the proximate and contributory causes of the incident, determine the liabilities of government officials and private contractors, and to ensure that measures are in place to prevent a similar or worse scenario in the future,” Hontiveros said.
This is the fourth Senate resolution filed on the air traffic management fiasco.
The first three resolutions were filed by Senators Joel Villanueva, Jinggoy Estrada, and Ramon Bong Revilla on Tuesday. Jaspearl Tan/DMS
