Security fears defer NAIA-3 opening

Security fears have forced the government to postpone until next year the scheduled opening next month of Manila’s new passenger terminal, officials said yesterday.

President Arroyo has upheld Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza’s opinion that there are significant security and safety issues that have to be resolved before the opening of this facility. The new terminal needed four months from this month to transfer their facilities. Mrs. Arroyo earlier said the terminal would have a "soft opening" on Dec. 15.

"Their assessment is that we cannot even risk the opening of an airport until we are 100 or 105 percent sure that the airport is safe, secure and functioning smoothly," Presidential Spokesman Rigoberto Tiglao said.

He added that the projected opening of the facility in April next year was not deliberately timed for the observance of the President’s 56th birthday.

He pointed out that the NAIA Terminal 3 could be opened anytime it meets preset standards for the safety and convenience of the passengers.

The Philippine International Air Terminals Co. (Piatco), a private consortium that owns the franchise to the $500-million Terminal 3 project, pledged to cooperate with the government in addressing the latter’s safety concerns.

Mendoza said the government has found "unacceptable" Piatco’s "open terminal" proposal where non-passengers could enter after a security check, but with departing passengers subject only to "profiling and random baggage checks."

"This concept is a radical departure from existing security procedures which require a 100 percent security check on all departing passengers, which is in compliance with the duty and responsibility of the government to ensure security at the airport," he added.

"The need to take extreme security measures at the (Terminal 3) cannot be overemphasized," Mendoza said.

"There is a high risk at the airport due to heightened terrorist threats brought about by, among others, the Sept. 11 incident, the Bali bombing, and intelligence reports citing that primary targets of terrorists include the Philippines," he said.

Mendoza also cited aviation safety concerns that have not been addressed by the consortium.

These include coordination procedures between ground and ramp control at the terminal and the air traffic control tower, and the lack of a communication system between the terminal and the tower as well as with approach control.

He also cited the lack of ramp access for passengers and cargo transferring from an existing terminal, as well as the lack of perimeter security fence around the facility.

Piatco vice president and spokesman Moises Tolentino told local radio that Piatco would be able to comply with the requirements within two months, saying the process "would not take four months." A Piatco statement said "most of the security issues raised by Secretary Mendoza have to be addressed, while others had already been solved by Piatco."

"These are not insurmountable and the Dec. 15 opening target may still be achieved," it added.

The 28-gate terminal project has been mired in a shareholder dispute involving German investor Fraport AG and a Filipino partner that led to threats of government intervention.

Launched in 1996 to ease congestion at the country’s main port of entry, the nearly completed terminal would have four times the capacity of the existing Ninoy Aquino International Airport terminal and be able to handle 13 million passengers annually. - AFP, Marichu Villanueva, Non Alquitran