Gov’t must control public utilities vital to national security, says JV Ejercito
January 10, 2023
Senate Public Services vice chairperson Joseph
Victor “JV” Ejercito is opposing the proposal to privatize the country’s
premier airport, saying that public utility services vital to national security
must only be controlled by the government.
“I think what opened during the fiasco should
be an eye opener for us. But when we talk about utilities concerning national
security, I’m still thinking that it should be under government control,” he
said in an interview.
Ejercito warned that the Ninoy Aquino
International Airport (NAIA), the country’s main international gateway, could
suffer the same fate as the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines
(NGCP), a power transmission operator that was privatized in 2009.
Around 40 percent of the NGCP’s stakes are
owned by the State Grid Corporation of China.
“We know for a fact that we have a dispute
with China. But with what happened at the airport, with one instance, it can
paralyze the whole airspace system. Air traffic froze for several hours. So,
with one flick, we can be paralyzed without electricity,” he said.
“We have to know what vessels or aircraft are
entering our airspace, especially that we have a dispute right now,” he added.
While he is open to proposals seeking to place
the NAIA under a public-private partnership, maintaining and enforcing
government oversight should be given priority.
“It would be more amenable for me to make it
more professionalized and to ensure that operations are more efficient,”
Ejercio said.
“But I think the government has to be there to
oversee because again, I’m more concerned about national security,” he added.
A sudden glitch with the system downed more
than 3,000 inbound and outbound flights throughout the country and affected
around 65,000 international and domestic passengers on New Year’s Day.
Three days after the incident, Ejericto filed
Senate Resolution No. 400, directing the Senate Committee on Public Services to
conduct an investigation on the said fiasco and produce recommendations to
strengthen the country’s aviation industry.
The said panel is set to hold its first probe on the
incident on January 12.
