Business World
April 18, 2011 11:14:55 PM
THE GOVERNMENT is believed to be still unable to enforce international standards for civil aviation due to inadequate staffing of the regulator, infrastructure, aircraft checking and data systems, risk consultancy Pacific Strategies and Assessments (PSA) said ahead of the country’s plans to invite foreign auditors before the year ends.
Results of the 48-page PSA study, said to be commissioned by "a consortium of foreign investors," could mean that the Philippines will fail an international audit eyed for this year, the consultancy’s business intelligence director, Peter Troilo, said in a phone interview last Sunday.
The study, completed last month, listed several problems that have been observed to persist despite state efforts to address earlier international downgrades.
‘Ill-prepared’
The first point dealt with the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) which was deemed to be "drastically underfunded, understaffed and ill-equipped to comply with international civil authority standards."
As such, this oversight regime is "ill-prepared and enforce international civil aviation standards," PSA said.
"The country’s damaging ‘brain drain’ phenomenon has also had a negative impact...Every year CAAP loses approximately 60 check pilots and safety inspectors, 1,200 aircraft mechanics and 200 general aircraft specialists," PSA claimed.
The study also noted how an audit by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) was indefinitely postponed in December last year due to reorganization in the CAAP.
This, after several foreign bodies gave low marks to the Philippine government’s safety readiness and thus limited the operations of Philippine carriers abroad.
The US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) issued a low rating for the Philippine aviation sector due to policies that are below international standards and lack of qualified safety personnel.
The FAA downgraded the Philippines to "category 2" from "category 1" in 2008 after a safety audit in November 2007, preventing Philippine carriers from expanding operations in the US.
PSA noted in its report that category 2 means that CAAP "does not provide safety oversight of its air carrier operators in accordance with the minimum safety oversight standards established by ICAO."
ICAO had designated the country as a "significant safety concern" in December 2009.
The European Union (EU) also blacklisted the Philippines in April last year.
Deficiencies
The PSA study went on to note that Philippine air traffic management systems and navigational aids are "substandard and antiquated," while runway construction and preservation were "poor."
"The CAAP Employees Union claims that over 90% of the navigational aids used at the country’s airports are unreliable and prone to malfunctioning due to negligence and poor maintenance," PSA claimed, noting that more than half have reportedly reached their 15-year serviceable life and are already due for replacement.
"[And] there have been multiple reports of damaged runway asphalt and other forms of runway deterioration...," it added without elaborating.
In addition, the study noted "major practical...deficiencies in aircraft care and maintenance."
The same study had also found wanting government enforcement for tracking aircraft parts to ensure they are genuine and of high quality.
Finally, the study pointed to "insufficient" data systems on errors, incidents and accidents.
"CAAP has not implemented or enforced information sharing or reporting systems or protocols...," PSA claimed.
"There is significant risk that CAAP will fail at the next audit," Mr. Troilo said in the telephone interview.
The government plans to invite an FAA team by September to conduct an audit, earlier reports show. ICAO and the EU were said to be up for invitation after the FAA audit.
The audits will be done in hopes of obtaining a rating upgrade, which will allow local airlines to expand operations -- adding locations and frequencies of flights -- in the US or in Europe.
"CAAP has claimed that it has fixed a number of issues raised against it, so it is possible that they [sic] will pass," Mr. Troilo said.
"However, without major overhauls, it is certainly at risk at failing the next ICAO audit, and others."
‘The issue is economics’
Sought for comment, the CAAP said it is hard at work laying down improvements.
"We are being helped by consultants and former FAA auditors. They are guiding us," CAAP Director-General Ramon S. Gutierrez said in a telephone interview yesterday.
The September target for an audit may move, depending on the government’s preparedness, Mr. Gutierrez said, "but still [CAAP is] looking at [having one] by yearend hopefully".
Sought for comment on the PSA’s identified problems regarding staffing, infrastructure, checking mechanisms and data systems, Mr. Gutierrez only pointed to the issue of funding.
"The issue is economics," he said in a text message. -- Kathleen A. Martin with a report from A. M. G. Roa
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