DAVAO CITY — Former Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade has been accused of diverting P13-billion fund for the backup of air traffic control systems which resulted to the two-day air space fiasco on January 1 and 2 which caused flight cancellations and stranded thousands of passengers.
The Philippine Congress in 2018, approved the P13-billion budget but instead of upgrading the air control system Tugade reportedly used the fund to uplift and beautify other wasn’t reportedly spent by former Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade on cosmetic projects at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).
In 2018, Congress granted a P13-billion budget to the Department of Transportation for the supposed state-of-the-art communications, navigation, surveillance/air traffic management (CNS/ATM) systems of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP). It was aimed at modernizing the airport equipment and wares which was likened to other airports in the world.
The airport upgrade was hatched in 1990’s but was realized in 2019. Everything was reportedly done but it turned out that the CNS-ATM system had no backup in place as other fund were under to other purpose such as installation of electronic billboards and concreting of parking spaces for cars outside NAIA terminals, all aesthetics.
Director Manuel Tamayo of the Civil Aviation Authority says the airport’s current CNS-ATM (Communications, Navigation and Surveillance Systems for Air Traffic Managements is already outdated.
But Tugade denied all the accusations hurled against him.
The two-day air space mess resulted to the cancellation of over 360 flights worldwide with angry angry stranded passengers.
Senators and lawmakers call for an investigation and want the people responsible for the alleged diversion of the appropriated budget for the air traffic control system should spend the next holiday season behind bars.
Among them is former Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson who on Tuesday ina statement said ““Stupidity or greed? If reports are accurate that the budget appropriated by Congress for the setup of redundancies in the air traffic control system was diverted to some beautification projects at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), those responsible should spend their next holiday season in jail.”
Lacons claimed that during the Duterte administration the DOTr was among the agencies with the “worst underspending records, year in and year out.”
“The P13 billion must have been part of their unspent appropriations declared as savings then realigned. I hope Sen. Grace Poe’s committee can look more deeply into the history of that particular appropriation,” Lacon added.
Three resolutions have been filed in the Senate to investigate the disruption at the Naia caused by the air traffic management system snag that canceled, delayed, or diverted domestic and international flights that affected 56,000 to 65,000 passengers travelers.-Editha Z. Caduaya
