CAAP logo. INQUIRER FILES
MANILA, Philippines – The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) on Friday warned about corresponding penalties for offenders who trespass airports and endanger their operations and safety.
CAAP stressed that a violation of the Republic Act 9497, which punishes the act of destroying or damaging air navigation facilities and interfering with the airport’s operations, is subject to one to six years of imprisonment or a fine of up to P1 million.
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The agency released the warning after it filed a case before the Department of Justice over an alleged illegal trespassing incident in the Caticlan Airport, which “put the safety of the airport runway at risk.”
In a statement, CAAP said that the involved offender allegedly “cut a part of the airport’s perimeter fence” and placed an unspecified “highly hazardous foreign object debris” on the runway, which was a clear threat to the airport’s security and safety.
The case filed by CAAP, through its Director General Captain Manuel Antonio Tamayo, is part of the agency’s efforts to safeguard airports and “demonstrate that legal action will be taken against violators of airport safety.” — Barbara Gutierrez, INQUIRER.net intern
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