BILLIONS of pesos in potential investments, trade and losses in the tourism industry is what is facing the Philippine economy with the downgrading of the country’s aviation safety rating by the US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) and the travel advisory issued by the US Embassy.

According to Robert Lim Joseph, president of the Network of Independent Travel Agencies and Save Our Skies Movement (SOS Movement), the situation of the Philippines’ rating on its compliance with aviation safety standards provided by the International Civil Aviation Organization, dropping it from a Category 1 to a Category 2 country, is a serious area of concern to which a full-blown investigation by either the Senate or the House of Representatives should be done.

Pressed as to who is to blame for the current situation that the Philippines is in, Joseph said that it is no other than former Air Transportation Office (ATO) chief Nilo Jatico.

Joseph said that his groups were expecting the downgrade after their constant appeals to Jatico to make concrete steps to improve the security in the air industry and rid the agency of graft.

Joseph said that the ATO under Jatico allowed people to get licenses, easily disregarding the security and safety of the passengers.

He said that the pilots should first pass through rigid tests and trainings as an image of  corruption is tainting the agency by allowing persons to get such permits despite their not being fully qualified.

As proof, Joseph cited the numerous crashes in the country in the past year alone, particularly in training schools. He said that the crashes may have reached 100 in 2007.

“There should be a full-blown investigation into this either by the Senate or Congress as to why Mr. Jatico allowed this to happen,” he said.

Joseph warned that the Philippines may suffer the fate similar to Indonesia, where international carriers are the ones dictating to the airline industry.

Joseph said the Philippines stand to lose billions of dollars in potential investments and tourist receipts as well as trade since the US FAA advisory and the US travel advisory paint a negative image for RP in general.

He said that such negative image or problems with security and safety could affect how the Philippines, which badly needs investments, is seen abroad.  

Joseph said investors would want to ensure that their money would be placed in an area where trade can flourish.

However, with the advisory, trade would also be a problem since a US travel advisory is being circulated around the world and carries a great impact.

He said that American traders would find it hard to come to the Philippines and make deals, and Filipinos would also have a hard time sending products abroad, particularly to the US.

On the aspect of the tourism sector, Joseph noted that the Americans would now simply choose a destination other than the Philippines since they are not advised to tour the country by air to get from one point to another in the country.

But Seair president and chief executive officer Avelino Zapanta said that his company is not affected by the US advisory and the downgrade.

Zapanta said that Seair, a domestic flyer, mostly services Asian nationals, particularly that of the Koreans, Chinese and Japanese. They also have Europeans and Euro-Asians, but they only have a handful of Americans.

He said that while it may affect them, it would not create a huge impact.

Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza earlier ordered ATO Acting Assistant Secretary Daniel A. Dimagiba to immediately evaluate, review and undertake measures and course of action to ensure compliance with the audit results and recommendations of the FAA.

Mendoza also ordered ATO to immediately make the rectifications of the deficiencies identified in the International Aviation Safety Assessment conducted by the FAA in a bid to have the downgrade (from Category 1 to Category 2) lifted.

Mendoza assured the public that the government will tap its available resources to ensure the lifting of the Category 2 rating by FAA.

Mendoza also appealed to Congress for the immediate passage of the bill creating the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), otherwise known as the Civil Aviation Authority Act of 2008.

The CAAP bill, which has passed the lower House of Congress and the Senate of the Philippines but is awaiting the bicameral, aims to convert ATO into a corporate entity, which will provide financial flexibility and enhance commercial, operations and management efficiency.

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BILLIONS of pesos in potential investments, trade and losses in the tourism industry is what is facing the Philippine economy with the downgrading of the country’s aviation safety rating by the US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) and the travel advisory issued by the US Embassy.

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