The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) on Thursday took full responsibility for the air traffic system glitch incident at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) during New Year’s day.
During the hearing on the committee on public services, CAAP Capt. Manuel Antonio Tamayo apologized on behalf of the agency to the thousands of passengers greatly affected by the airport traffic mess.
“But we take this as a lesson and we manifest to this honorable committee and fellow Filipinos that we take full responsibility and accountability for what happened. We commit to see through this ordeal to be transparent in all our dealings and of service to Filipinos in ensuring that our flights are safe,” he said.
Tamayo attributed the system failure to the damaged circuit breaker which affected the two uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), the backup power supplies of the agency’s Communications, Navigation, and Surveillance for Air traffic Management (CNS/ATM).
But the CAAP chief assured that they have initiated measures to upgrade the CNS/ATM.
“DOTr [Department of Transportation] and CAAP met with the representative of the system supplier on January 5, 2023, to finalize the terms,” Tamayo said.
Meanwhile in the same hearing, Senate President Juan Miguel ‘Migz’ Zubiri asked Tamayo if there are closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras inside the facility where CNS/ATM is located.
Tamayo admitted that they have no CCTV that monitors the CNS/ATM system but he explained that they are implementing very strict security protocols in the area.
Zubiri stressed that the lack of equipment is a national security concern.
“Hindi ko po maintindihan na walang security footage diyan sa pinakamaselang lugar ng mga equipment ng CAAP. Hindi natin alam, baka may double agent na diyan, o may tao na diyan na nag-sabotage ng equipment. We will never know," the Senator said.
"We will have to believe them hook, line, and sinker from the logs. With CCTV footage, we would have been able to see if the system was overheating, if the system was diverted," he added.
