Clark state firm reclaims airport oversight roles

PHOTO COURTESY of Clark International Airport Corp. facebook page

CLARK FREEPORT, Pampanga — The state-owned Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) announced Thursday that the Department of Transportation (DOTr) has tasked it to exercise oversight functions on the Clark International Airport (CRK), which is being operated by a private consortium.

Darwin Cunanan, CIAC officer-in-charge, said the Nov. 7 directive of Transportation Sec. Jaime Bautista ordered CIAC to exercise “regulatory supervision and oversight of activities occurring within the Clark Civil Aviation Complex, including CRK.”

Cunanan said a copy of the directive was also furnished to Delfin Lorenzana and Aileen Zosa, chair and president, respectively, of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority, the parent company of CIAC.

Cunanan said the CIAC would be “working closely” with Luzon International Premier Airport Development Corp. (Lipad) to “ensure that operations abide by international standards and other rules and regulations as provided for by the national government.”

Lipad operated and maintained CRK and managed 810 hectares at the aviation complex since January 2019 under a 25-year consortium agreement.

Bautista’s directive came after the CIAC was stripped of control over the CRK, including its P15-billion passenger terminal in 2020.

Cunanan’s announcement did not say anything about CIAC getting a share of income from Lipad.

A series of letters by then-CRK President and Chief Executive Officer Aaron Aquino revealed the extent of the CIAC’s “almost powerlessness” in protecting the “gem that is the CRK,” which was reportedly in violation of two executive orders. INQ

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