NAIA composite image from Inquirer file photos
MANILA, Philippines — A group of consumers on Wednesday asked a Manila court to nullify certain provisions of the concession agreement for the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) public-private partnership project and the hike in fees imposed by the Manila International Airport Authority (Miaa).
In a 57-page petition for declaratory relief submitted to the Manila Regional Trial Court, the petitioners argued that some provisions of the concession agreement and the 2024 MIAA Revised Administrative Order (AO) No. 1 were contrary to law, arbitrary, and discriminatory.
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The petitioners included Consumers Union-Philippines Inc. and lawyers Rodel Taton, Samson Tan, Vanessa Marie Oyos, Janica Tujan, and Clifford Taton.
They said the case was “not a move against development and better services for the country’s main gateway” but a “decisive action by and for consumers.”
Named respondents in the case were the Department of Transportation (DOTr), Miaa, New Naia Infra Corp., and the Office of the Solicitor General.
The petitioners sought a judicial nullification of Section 1.1 of the concession agreement and Sections 4.2, 4.2.1, and 5.4 of the 2024 Revised MIAA AO, saying these violate Republic Act No. 11966, or the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Code of the Philippines.
Judicial nullification
The said sections address adjustments in nonregulated fees and charges to be levied by the airport operator, but the petitioners said these would be set according to the concession agreement “without requiring the administrative process.”
They argued that there was no provision for “nonregulated” rates under the PPP Code and that it does not grant agencies like DOTr and Miaa the authority to give private partners the “unbridled power” to set any rates or charges.
The group also called the rates imposed by the 2024 Miaa Revised AO “unjust and unreasonable,” citing as examples the overnight vehicle parking rate, which went up from P300 to P1,200, and aircraft landing and takeoff fees, which would more than triple once concession operations at Naia begin.
The Miaa, which now serves as Naia regulator, declined to comment because it has yet to get a copy of the petition.