MCIAA board creates team to probe issues vs. Yap

The Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA) board yesterday formed a committee to look into issues and allegations besetting the board and, in particular, airport General Manager Adelberto Yap.

To show that the board has not turned a deaf ear to all of the issues hounding Yap and the board in general, the board appointed Justice Undersecretary Mark Llanto, Maria Lourdes Didal of the Department of Finance, and special legal consultant Atty. Rory John Sepulveda as members of the investigation committee.

The governor, who used to be a strong supporter of Yap in the board, said the public ought to know that she and other board members received voluminous documents on certain questionable airport transactions.

When Yap was given the chance to air his side on issues involving him, he reportedly explained that the issues hurled against him have been perpetrated by someone who "hates his guts."

For lack of third level career service eligibility, the Civil Service Commission has continuously questioned the appointment of Yap by the board.

Also, an airport official has recently filed a complaint against Yap before the Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas for allegedly submitting a falsified copy of Republic Act 6958, the law providing for the MCIAA Charter, to the CSC just to have his previous appointment approved.

Further, the governor said she asked Yap to provide the board specifications of the latter's proposal covering P100 million worth of airport projects to be funded by the national government as part of the preparations for the 12th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit during a briefing with Ambassador Marciano Paynor Jr. in yesterday's board meeting. Paynor is the chairman of the ASEAN Summit Cebu Organizing Committee (COC).

These projects include the construction of an extended VIP lounge at the Mactan Benito Ebuen Air Base that approximately cost P40 million; installation of lighting in the existing ramp at the base that has an estimated cost of P20 million; and the purchase of another P30-million ramp bus.

Upon the governor's insistence and the rest of the MCIAA board members, the airport body is now in the process of bidding out the construction of VIP lounges, as against Yap's proposal that it be awarded to Young Builders Inc. as contiguous project to the ongoing P124-million airport administration building project.

The board has recently rescinded its P110-million contract with the ARN Builders for the apron project due to very serious questions as regards cost estimates, volumes, qualifications, authenticity of documents, among others.

Part of yesterday's discussion with Paynor was the availability of space for the expected aircrafts that would be coming in for the different heads of states during the ASEAN summit this December.

As such, a team was formed to study the entire available space both at the airport and airbase, and to subsequently come up with a proposal on how to maximize existing space.

The team is also tasked to look at the area where the VIP lounge will be constructed considering the flow of aircrafts in the arrival and departure base, the governor said. - Cristina C. Birondo