A group will submit a letter to the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) urging the independent body to investigate the P1.5-Trillion public-private partnership deal between the government and the New NAIA Infrastructure Corporation (NNIC).
The purpose of the project is to modernize the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia).
In an interview with the INQUIRER.net on Thursday, Pagkakaisa ng mga Users, Stakeholders at Obrero ng Naia (PUSO ng Naia) Secretary General Romeo Sauler said the commission should also look into the Naia modernization since ‘PPP infrastructure is under the ICI.’ ‘We are giving them the data, the information that they will look at and include in the investigations,’ Sauler said.
‘I am quoting our convenor, Atty. Luke Espiritu, who said that ‘if there are ghost projects, these are ghost services.’ That is what should be look into,’ he pointed out.
Sauler said he cannot provide the exact day when the group will submit their letter to the ICI office in Taguig City, adding that the convenors will finalize the schedule first. Based on the open letter of the PUSO ng Naia, they cited five alleged irregularities in the Naia modernization process.
These are procedural irregularities, contractual provisions favoring the concessionaire, conflicts of interest and abuse of influence, premature implementation and lack of oversight, [and] irregularities in bidding and lack of transparency.
The PUSO ng Naia called on the ICI to examine all public officials involved for possible violations of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act with regard to the PPP program.
Here are the group’s requests:
Audit the rate-setting mechanisms and legality of non-regulated fees
Suspend implementation activities until an independent consultant is properly engaged
Recommend remedial measures, including contract revision or cancellation, should corruption or bad faith will be established
‘The modernization of Naia is vital and long overdue, but it must not be achieved through opaque and compromised arrangements,’ PUSO ng Naia said in a letter.
‘The airport belongs to the Filipino people. Its rehabilitation should embody transparency, accountability and public benefit, not private enrichment,’ it noted.