Press Release
August 21, 2018

Transcript of Sen. Grace Poe's Interview
ANC with Ms. Karmina Constantino
August 21, 2018

Karmina Constantino: Madam senator, thanks for joining us, good afternoon.

Sen. Grace Poe: Good afternoon, Karmina.

Constantino: What to you is the most glaring part in this whole mishap?

Poe: Number one is the capability of our airport authorities to be able to address a situation like this, how quickly or slowly were they able to respond? Do they have the right equipment and contingencies in place? Also, more important is how were they able to treat the stranded passengers? A lot of those passengers had to wait needlessly in the airport, thus adding to congestion. A lot of them were misinformed or were not informed at all about the flight changes and gate changes. A lot of them also had to suffer through having to go through the lines in Immigration and also of the different airlines for proper information. These things will all have to be considered. Our function in the Senate is not just for legislation but also to make sure that the departments are performing at their optimum, and if need be, if they need supplemental assistance or budget to be able to perform better, then this is something that we need to consider especially now that we're currently deliberating on the budget. Let's also not forget that although there are many problems that have occurred there, let's also see what the liabilities are or what the Xiamen Airlines pilot should be accountable for. When we were listening to the recording of the air traffic controller and the pilot, it seems like there's a misunderstanding or I don't know if there's a proficiency problem with regard to communication. So these things have to be considered, and if they have to pay a fine then they pay a fine, but accidents do happen and I really think that we all need to be able to account for what we may have missed.

Constantino: Let's talk about that right now, the Xiamen Airlines' liability or accountability, the DOTr came out with a statement, they gave details about their plan of action moving forward, it was silent though as to what really happened and if they find that Xiamen Airlines should be held accountable. We heard though, from GM Edmund Real, that Xiamen will be made to pay millions in fines. First of all, your thoughts on the DOTr's handling of Xiamen Airlines and if they are asked to pay fines, do you think this is enough?

Poe: I think that definitely, if they are at fault, they need to be able to compensate for all the losses, specifically financial losses, about 200 flights. But we cannot also make arbitrary policies, remember that there are also other international airlines that are flying in the country. They would see how we respond to this. A proper and fair investigation should be done to see if it's the pilot's error, if it could've been avoided or if it's something that we should have been able to address quite immediately considering that we are running an international airport. We should be able to be proficient in addressing these kinds of problems because you can never really predict when an accident might happen...So definitely they should pay a fine if they are found at fault, it seems now that there might be basis for that. But also we cannot lay all the blame on an international airline because other airlines might be able to see this as our laying blame on others as supposed to actually rectifying the situation.

Constantino: We also have to talk about Xiamen Airlines, how it mounted several recovery flights without coordinating with airport authorities. This happened post the mishap, what to you made this possible? And also there was a report, actually, part of the interview of GM Edmund Real, that the pilot actually ordered the disembarkation of passengers without coordinating with the MIAA.

Poe: Certainly those neglected protocols are something that we need to look into. You know sometimes when there's imminent danger and the pilot feels for the safety of the passengers--I can probably understand that. So he needs to explain it to the investigating body what led to that. But what for me is more worrisome is the lack of coordination even after that. Remember, we need to able to communicate properly for the safety of the passengers. Is our air traffic control not given enough support? Or do they not have the technical ability to be able to monitor properly? Remember, even the gate changes were a problem, even the monitors in the airports were not updated properly...It's a good thing that we prevented or there was no other accident that happened after this. So let's make sure that next time, we are able to address it properly and that first of all, the welfare and safety of the passengers are upheld. Aside from that also, we need to be proactive in conducting our hearings. We would like to ask directly from Secretary Tugade, there's been so many proposals already, unsolicited bids and proposals for the expansion and modernization of our airports. They've been in (office) for close to three years and they should be able to have some sort of plan already. Why are they taking too long to move forward? What is it that is holding them back? There's a proposal for another airport in Bulacan at no cost to the government. A mega consortium in NAIA is something that can assure us of a better managed and expanded airport. There are also talks of a proposal of having perhaps another runway in the Nayong Pilipino area. These things have to be brought out into the open so that people will see if the DOTr is really acting proactively or are they just wasting time and in the process, hundreds of thousands of our countrymen are suffering.

Constantino: Let me read to you, madam senator, a part of the statement that DOTr came out with just a couple of hours ago. It reads, 'habang ang ilan abala sa pagpuna, kami abala sa pagtatrabaho.' Again that phrase is part of the statement of the DOTr, your reaction to that?

Poe: ...Kami ay nagtatrabaho at ginagawa namin ang aming tungkulin. Kung maaari nga lang sana ay kami na rin siguro ang mismong mag-mando do'n at gumawa niyan pero sasabihin naman nila na kami ay nago-overstep do'n sa aming tungkulin, sa kanila 'yan, sa amin nga dapat oversight at legislation, ginagawa namin 'yun. Ngayon, kung ang iba naman, siguro may pagkukulang sila, basta sa konsiyensiya namin, nararapat lamang na kung ano ang ating mandato, 'yun ang ating bigyan ng pansin. Alam mo, ako'y nagtrabaho rin sa ehekutibo, napakaganda sana ng oportunidad na 'yan kasi ikaw mismo ang puwedeng magdesisyon agad-agad. Hindi katulad sa amin sa Senado na kailangan naming hintayin pa ang mahabang proseso ng deliberasyon dahil 'yan talaga ang procedure dito sa amin. Basta kung sino man ang pinapatamaan nila at tama ba naman ang sabihin nila na ginagawa nila ang kanilang tungkulin--makikita natin sa ating pagdinig kung 'yan ba ay totoo.

Constantino: Speaking of the hearing, who else have you invited and who else have confirmed their attendance in next week's hearing?

Poe: Aside from Secretary Tugade, which I hope he will actually make time for because he has in the past but not always, I can understand he has other functions but I think this is of prime importance, we will also invite the Undersecretary for Aviation and Airports, Undersecretary Tamayo. We will also be inviting the representatives and the officers of the airlines, Xiamen itself, if we can have the pilot, better. We would also like to invite those who have unsolicited bids for the airports, particularly the mega consortium, SMC and others. Also maybe a representative of the Board of Nayong Pilipino, if indeed there was a study together with PACGOR, of a possible conversion to a runway airport for us.

Constantino: Alright, Sen. Grace Poe, chairperson of the Senate public services committee. Always a pleasure talking to you, thanks for taking our call.

Poe: Likewise, thank you.

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