Tugade on alleged fund diversion after air system traffic glitch: ‘Farthest from the truth’

Passengers wait for information about their flights at Terminal 3 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Pasay, Metro Manila on January 1, 2023. Thousands of travelers were stranded at Philippine airports on January 1 after a “loss of communication” at the country’s busiest hub in Manila forced hundreds of flights to be cancelled, delayed or diverted. (File Photo by KEVIN TRISTAN ESPIRITU / AFP)

CLARK FREEPORT, Pampanga — Former Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Arturo Tugade on Tuesday, Jan. 3, said he had “always instructed a backup system” to the communications, navigation, surveillance/air traffic management (CNS/ATM) systems of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP).

The air traffic management system encountered problems on Jan. 1, which delayed or canceled more than 300 flights and affected more than 55,000 passengers.

“CAAP officials who were there during our time are still there: [Manuel Antonio] Tamayo [former DOTr undersecretary for aviation and airports], Danjun Lucas [now acting deputy director general for administration], Jim Sydiongco [former CAAP director general] and [Ricardo] Banayat [CAAP deputy director general], etc. They recommended/monitored, and implemented. Ask them,” Tugade told the Inquirer via Viber messages.

“I have always instructed a redundancy plan,” he said, adding that Tamayo, Lucas, and Sydiongco “cannot deny this!”

“Farthest from the truth,” he added, referring to allegations he did not spend or diverted P13 billion in funds away from modernizing the CNS/ATM or putting in place the backup system.

The online news portal bilyonaro.com carried a story on that allegation. INQ

RELATED STORIES

CAAP admits: PH’s air traffic management system outdated

Air traffic system glitch diverts all flights in Manila | Inquirer News

Poe on air traffic system glitch: Is this a national security issue?

lzb