Miaa rebuked for plans to get third party for Naia terminal voltage maintenance

Departing passengers line up at the immigration counters of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) prior to boarding their lights in this 2017 file photo. INQUIRER FILES

MANILA, Philippines — Lawmakers grilled the Manila International Airport Authority (Miaa) over its proposal to contract out the maintenance of Ninoy Aquino International Airport’s (Naia) electrical operations.

Testifying at the House transportation committee hearing on the airport’s power outages, Miaa general manager Bryan Co said the outsourcing plan was the fastest solution to fix the power problems.

“We have a program, which is actually being finalized right now, for the outsourcing of the operations and maintenance of Naia’s high voltage equipment because we identified early on that we do not have the necessary competencies to manage the high voltage systems that’s why we opted to do a [terms of reference] so we can outsource the high voltage maintenance and operations of Naia terminal facilities,” said Co in a mix of English and Filipino.

ACT Teachers party-list representative France Castro questioned the necessity of outsourcing, citing the critical nature of Naia’s voltage maintenance.

“Hindi natin pwede i-rely itong maintenance na ito sa outsourcing. Buti kung simpleng utilities lang yan, di ba? Pero ito po may kinalaman sa technical. Very technical po ito na dapat mag-hire tayo ng may plantilla position, qualified manpower para dito po. Bakit ang solusyon niyo agad ang pag-outsource?” Castro asked.

(We cannot rely on outsourcing this maintenance. Better if they are just simple utilities, right? But this is connected to the highly technical, so we need to hire plantilla positions and qualified manpower. Why is your immediate solution to outsource?)

Co explained after weighing the options of outsourcing versus hiring skilled employees, the company had chosen to proceed with outsourcing for a quicker solution.

“We opt to explore both ways,” said the Miaa official.

Antipolo City 2nd District Rep. Romeo Acop pointed out that outsourcing maintenance to a third party may pose security issues.

“Why would you consider outsourcing it when in fact, yung agency na mahi-hire niyo na mag-outsource, pwede niya i-sabotage iyon?” asked Acop.

Department of Transportation Usec. Robert Lim said the companies would undergo vetting based on eligibility and track records.

“It is just a stop-gap measure for the restoration of services as soon as possible,” said Lim.

Headed by Acop, the inquiry is a continuation of a previous House probe into the power outage that Naia suffered.

Naia has experienced two outages twice for 2023 – the first one during the holiday season on January 1, New Year’s Day and the second incident on May 1.

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