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DESPITE
the clamor of foreign business chambers and business
groups in the Clark and Subic Free Ports, President
Arroyo is not expected to amend Executive Order (EO)
500-A which restricts the entry of nondesignated budget
airlines into the former
US
military bases, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said
Wednesday.
The
clamor was renewed, also Wednesday, by stakeholders from
Central Luzon, who gathered for a manifesto signing in
Makati City.
They said the draft EO 500-B is necessary in order to
accelerate the development of the former military base
as the country’s premier gateway and regional logistics
hub for Region 3.
Ermita
said in an interview after his weekly news briefing at
the Palace that the President is not convinced of the
need to issue EO 500-B, which was to grant unlimited
freedom rights to foreign air carriers flying to the
Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) in Clark
Free Port and the Subic International Airport.
Asked
whether the President has signed EO 500-B, the
amendatory EO to EO 500-A, Ermita said: “Apparently, the
President is not convinced that whatever amendments are
proposed in what should have been an EO 500-B is
necessary, so the President did not issue it. So there’s
no such thing as an EO 500-B.”
He said
the President had discussed at length the pros and cons
of lifting the restricted entry of low-cost carriers
into Clark and Subic Free Ports with her Cabinet
officials, especially with the Department of
Transportation and Communications (DOTC).
“Of
course, the President got their feedback, what the
advantages and disadvantages [are],” Ermita said.
Asked
whether the issuance of EO 500-B is no longer a
possibility, Ermita said: “I cannot say that with
definiteness. Only the President will know that. But for
now, I know that there is no EO 500-B.”
Issued
on January 27, 2006, EO 500 the DMIA and
Subic as
“developmental routes” and maintained that “the increase
in commercial and cargo access to DMIA shall be regarded
as an enhancement of Clark-Subic as an international
service and logistics center in the region.”
EO 500,
which allowed budget airlines to fly without
restrictions on traffic rights, capacity and air-
freedom rights, except cabotage, was amended on August
22, 2006 through EO 500-A, which favors Philippine
carriers.
Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza had said the
DOTC and the local airline industry are “comfortable”
with EO 500-A as it provides a “level- playing field”
and would not unduly benefit only foreign LCCs.
Philippine carriers—Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific,
Air Philippines, Asian Spirit and Pacific East Asia
Cargo—signed a manifesto last year opposing EO 500-B, as
it would be inimical to the Philippine airline industry
and would not require reciprocity.
Jaime
Bautista, Philippine Airlines president and chief
operating officer, said in an earlier interview that PAL
supports an open-skies policy that is “fair, equitable
and reciprocal,” which EO 500-B allegedly would not
ensure.
“500-A
is working. There is nothing wrong with 500-A....We have
to protect also the interest of the Filipinos, not the
interest of foreigners,” Bautista said.
The
Joint Chambers of Commerce of the Philippines is
supporting the adoption of EO 500-B to attract more
foreign carriers into the country.
While
Ermita was briefing the media, Pampanga businessmen,
locators, travel agencies, hotel operators,
retirement-home financiers and all stakeholders were
meeting in Makati. They signed a manifesto urging the
administration, the Congress and all related government
agencies to support the passage of the draft EO 500-B.
The
group, led by Rep. Carmelo Lazatin, is requesting
support for EO 500-B to allow “pocket open-skies policy”
at the Dmia to accelerate the development of the former
military base as the country’s premier gateway and
regional logistic hub for Region 3.
Such a
policy would allow foreign air carriers unrestricted
entry into such gateways as Subic, Clark, Cebu, Laoag
and other areas to speed up economic development through
tourist arrivals that would spur business in those
places, but would leave untouched the current bilateral
agreement being observed by flag carriers PAL and other
airlines flying out of the Ninoy Aquino International
Airport, they said.
But, at
the same time, the group is urging the government to
hold more bilateral and multilateral air talks with
other countries in securing favorable air service
agreements (ASAs) for the benefit of the proposed
gateways.
“It is
the declared policy and petition of the parties to
advocate the soonest intervention to promote the
Philippine tourism industry and realize the vision of
developing Clark and Subic into world-class service and
logistic centers,” the manifesto said.
Besides
pushing for EO 500-B and the scheduling of air talks for
liberal air access in Clark and Subic, the manifesto
seeks the liberalization of the Philippine aviation
industry by passing a law developing all gateways
outside of Manila.
The
group’s concern is that despite the continued increase
in tourist arrivals in its Asian neighbors, the country
lags behind in comparison due to restricted flights of
foreign carriers.
The
group said world tourism is a $6-trillion industry,
employing 230 million people serving 800 million
international arrivals annually.
In Asean,
it was noted that the area is the fastest-growing
destination with at least 50 million international
arrivals in 2007. Singapore, a city with an area as
large as Clark, has about 10 million visitors annually,
while
Malaysia
and the rest of the Asean partners average 15 million
visitors a year.
The
Philippines’ share of this bonanza accounts for only 3
million passengers.
“The
Philippines, in spite of its strategic location in the
Pacific region, has been missing out on enormous
benefits offered by the flourishing logistics industry
that is currently being enjoyed by our Asean neighbors,”
according to Francisco Villanueva Jr., of the Clark
Investors and Locators Association, Inc.
“It is
believed that the lackluster performance of the local
tourism and logistics industry can be improved
significantly through a more globally competitive
aviation industry marked by more liberalized policies
and a more rational market structure,” according to the
group’s manifesto.
Lazatin
said air access to the
Philippines
is not only inadequate but severely limited by an
“antiquated” regulatory regime.
“We
observed that the Philippines is one of the laggards in
Southeast Asia in attracting foreign investments because
the Philippines is not a hub for commercial aviation,”
he said, adding the lack of direct flights inhibits
potential investors’ interest to engage in business in
places that are difficult to reach.
“The
opening of the skies over the Clark Special Economic
Zone is the cornerstone of Clark’s development,” he
said, adding that more flights into Dmia would stimulate
tourism, gaming, aircraft maintenance, recreational
activities, ground handling, catering and as retirement
haven. |
