MIAA opens two Piatco-held taxiways

Airport authorities opened yesterday two aircraft taxiways that are critical to the operation of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 (NAIA-3) in line with the government expropriation of the facility.

Meanwhile, the Office of the Solicitor General filed a motion in court last Friday asking the judge who gave the go-ahead for the takeover to inhibit himself from the expropriation case the government filed against Philippine Air Terminals Co. (Piatco), the consortium that built NAIA-3.

Piatco closed the two taxiways nearly three years ago when an internal squabble delayed the opening of the terminal, which became worse when the government in 2002 questioned Piatco’s contract to build and operate NAIA-3.

The taxiways are part of the terminal infrastructure. They connect the gleaming facility to the runways that planes use to take off and land at the NAIA.

"They were under the control of Piatco. Now that the government has taken possession of the facilities, we already opened it to the public," said Alfonso Cusi, general manager of the Manila International Airport Authority, who ordered taxiways "Delta" and "November" opened to ease air traffic congestion.

"There will be faster takeoff and landing time. There will be more efficient operations, lesser fuel for airline operators because the waiting time has been cut down. There will be a more efficient operation with the additional runway open. We will have a more efficient operation of the aerodrome," he told a press briefing.

When the taxiways were closed, "only Runway 13-31 was used as runway and taxiway at the same time. This caused delays. Queueing sometimes builds, sometimes up to eight aircraft waiting to take off before they can use the runway because of the absence of a taxiway."

Cusi said they expect Piatco to object to the opening of the taxiways but maintained there was no need to coordinate with the consortium.

"We already have control of the property through the court order. We don’t see that it is necessary because the court has already given us possession of the terminal," he said.

Judge Henrick Gingoyon of the Pasay City regional trial court (RTC) Branch 117 issued a writ of possession that paved the way for the government takeover of the terminal late last month.

However, the legal tussle took a new turn last Friday when the Office of the Solicitor General filed a motion asking Gingoyon to inhibit himself from the expropriation case following an order from Gingoyon directing the government to pay $62 million to Piatco as initial compensation for the takeover.

Gingoyon has formed a three-member panel that will determine how much the government should pay Piatco as compensation.

Solicitor General Alfredo Benipayo said the initial compensation order violated "essential procedural steps in expropriation proceedings."

While the court allowed the government to take over the terminal, the court also barred it from exercising "acts of ownership, such as awarding concessions or leasing any part of the terminal to other parties."

It also violated Republic Act 8975, which prohibits lower courts from issuing injunctions on government infrastructure projects, Benipayo said.

The OSG questioned the order because the "statute cited by the judge does not apply to the case."

Meanwhile, NAIA terminal 3 employees plan to file a motion to intervene in court next week to stop the expropriation, which they said was done "without regard to the law and the rights of other people — not only the builders, but the employees as well." They gave no details.

"Similar to the hasty issuance of the writ of possession, the Pasay RTC is now on the second stage of the expropriation, which is the appointment of three individuals for the final determination of the value of the NAIA-3 property. Clearly, Judge Gingoyon is speeding up the expropriation proceedings in favor of the government," they said in a statement issued to the media.

In 2002, President Arroyo abandoned Piatco’s contract to build and operate the terminal, claiming that one-sided provisions in favor of the consortium were inserted in the agreement after it was signed.

In May the following year, the Supreme Court voided Piatco’s government contract, ruling that the consortium was not qualified to participate in the 1997 bidding for the contract.

It also said the contract had provisions that gave Piatco "more favorable terms than that was available to other bidders at the time the contract was bidded out."

It said the "special financial benefit or advantage" given to Piatco constituted a "grave abuse of discretion" among the parties that drafted the agreement, which the tribunal said put the government "virtually at the mercy of Piatco."

The terminal was completed in 2002 but its opening was delayed by a squabble between German airport developer Fraport AG and its Filipino partner in Piatco, the Cheng family.

Fraport holds a 30-percent interest in Piatco but funded most of the project, investing over $300 million.

In 2002, Fraport said it might sue the Philippine government for damages if the company’s interests were not protected.