DOTC exec: Open-skies policy easier said than done

President Benigno Aquino III’s threat to impose an open-skies policy if a strike cripples flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) may be much easier said than done, a transportation official admitted Saturday. Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) spokesman Dante Velasco said care must be taken to ensure deals with foreign air carriers under an open-skies policy should follow the 1987 Constitution’s requirement of “reciprocity." “We allow airlines from abroad to land on our airports and allow our own carriers to land at their airports. Reciprocity is enshrined in our Constitution," he said. "The government can work towards an open-skies policy, but there are a lot of things to be done," Velasco said in an interview on dzBB radio. Under Section 13, Article XII of the Philippine Constitution, “(the) State shall pursue a trade policy that serves the general welfare and utilizes all forms and arrangements of exchange on the basis of equality and reciprocity." Last Friday, Aquino threatened to open Philippine skies if a plan by flight attendants to cripple PAL with a strike pushes through. The Flight Attendants’ and Stewards’ Association of the Philippines (FASAP) on Thursday filed a notice of strike before the Labor Department. FASAP cited as reason for the strike PAL’s “discriminatory" policies, including mandatory retirement at age 40. However, PAL insisted this was on their collective bargaining agreement. “I agree with the president on the open-skies policy, but we’re a long way from being there. Of course we are still hoping PAL management and the attendants can thresh out their differences," Velasco said in Filipino. He said reciprocity will also involve equal seats of flights from PAL to foreign destinations, and foreign airlines’ Philippine-bound flights. “The seats PAL can provide for foreign destinations must be reciprocal to the seats foreign carriers can provide for Philippine-bound flights. We are studying the details of the matter," he said. According to him, DOTC Secretary Jose de Jesus and Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim had already been exchanging notes on the policy with government’s economic advisers. The study on the details of an open-skies policy began in August, when PAL pilots suddenly stopped showing up for work, shortly after handing their resignation letters. The PAL-FASAP row is already at Labor Department, which had vowed to hold marathon meetings with PAL management and the attendants during a 30-day cooling-off period to head off the strike. “In the meantime, we will monitor developments about the impending strike. We are hoping it will not push through so we will not have to go to the next step of implementing the open-skies policy," he said. He added that for now, the PAL row is a “labor issue." “Pag medyo magkakaproblema na, may disruption of operations, papasok ang DOTC to implement the open-skies policy (If the row already causes disruption of PAL’s operations, the DOTC will come in and implement the open skies policy," he said. — LBG, GMANews.TV