PHL 'pocket' open skies policy excludes NAIA

(Updated 6:42) The “pocket" open skies policy excludes the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), with the Philippine aviation panels to declare which secondary airports are liberalized in favor of foreign airlines, Malacañang said Thursday. President Benigno Aquino III signed Executive Orders 28 and 29 on March 14, liberalizing the entry of foreign airlines with a view to increasing air traffic into the country, Ricky Carandang, head of the Presidential Communications Strategic Planning and Development Office, told reporters in a press briefing. “The intent of the orders was to liberalize the entry into secondary airports right now," Carandang said. It is up to the panel to determine which secondary airports will be part of the policy, he added. “We hope it will bring in more tourists, more investments, and spur a competition in the Philippine aviation industry and to allow it to be competitive internationally," he said, noting that the Aquino administration is looking forward “to increasing air traffic coming into the Philippines. The twin EOs should be taken together because EO 28 defines who is in charge of the liberalization process and EO 29 explains the policy, according to the Malacañang official. EO 28 is for reorganizing the Philippine Air Negotiating Panel (PNAP) and the Philippine Air Consultation Panel (PACP), and EO 29 authorizes the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) and the Philippine Air Panels to pursue more aggressively the international civil aviation liberalization policy, he explained. A concept of reciprocity A vital feature of the pocket open skies policy is the concept of reciprocity, Carandang said. “Domestic aviation would still be primarily in the hands of local carriers. So we believe that with those actions, the local aviation industry will have the ability to continue to compete," he said. The Palace official delved into the issues hounding such a policy, and referred to the reciprocity concept as a possible but not an absolute solution to problems that may crop up when a country open is skies to foreign airlines. “There are some questions about how much rights are [going to] be allowed to foreign carriers and how much rights we will be given in exchange. There’s a concept of reciprocity which can be defined in different ways. The EO and the economic team, as I understand, are taking the broadest definition of the reciprocity here," Carandang said. “We’re not going to say if we’re allowed one flight there, then they must be allowed one flight here. But we recognize the benefits of having flights here on [their] own in terms of tourists that are allowed to come in, the number of investment that is generated." These “can be viewed as reciprocity," according to the Palace official. SEAir has no objections In an interview, SEAir president and CEO Avelino Zapanta told GMA News Online he has no objections to foreign airlines operating under an unlimited service policy in the Philippines. "Open skies policy would help the domestic economy. It will increase jobs, boost businesses, and lift the tourism of the Philippines," said Zapanta, a proponent of the open skies policy. He said liberal air policies would allow the Philippine aviation industry to catch up with other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Now that the Philippines in going open skies, "the country is closing up to the idea of being a laggard in the industry," Zapanta said. With the policy in place, it is high time for the government to help improve all airports in the country, according to the SEAir CEO. "That way, we're showing to the world how we keep up in a modernized way," he said. PANP responsibilities EO 28 designates the PANP, after it has been reconstituted and reorganized, to hold initial negotiations of relevant air service agreements with foreign airlines. While the new panel will have the Foreign Affairs secretary as chair and the departments of Trade and Industry, Transportation and Communications (DOTC), Labor and Employment (DOLE), Tourism, and the CAB as members, the official carries of the Philippines under the policy may join the negotiations as observers. The PACP, on the other hand, is responsible for succeeding negotiations of air service and similar agreements. The new PACP will have the DOTC secretary as chair, with the CAB executive director as vice chair and the same departments under the PANP as members including Foreign Affairs. The EO also assigned the CAB as the secretariat to coordinate, set up, and prepare for the negotiations with foreign airlines. — With a report by Jesse Edep/VS, GMA News