MANILA: A group of lawyers has criticised the rollout of airport fee discounts scheduled in April, saying around 80 per cent of travellers cannot benefit from the measure since it does not cover Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia), which is now under a private operator.
The Department of Transportation recently announced the reduction of passenger service charges and airport navigation fees across all 42 airports operated by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Caap).
Naia, however, is under a private operator, New Naia Infra Corp. (NNIC), which officially took over the airport’s operations in September 2024 following a concession agreement with the government.
Lawyers Joel Butuyan, Antonio La Viña, Soledad Mawis, Roger Rayel and Jose Mari Benjamin Francisco Tirol on March 26 filed an urgent motion before the Supreme Court to an earlier petition for certiorari and prohibition seeking to nullify the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) concession agreement.
In a statement on Monday (March 30), they said both that agreement as well as Revised Administrative Order No. 1 issued by the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA), the agency tasked with managing Naia, were illegal and unconstitutional.
The lawyers said upholding the concession agreement would allow “connivance” between the government and business conglomerates when it comes to the operation of public utilities.
It also disregards the government’s obligation to provide affordable and accessible public services, they said.
They urged the high court to issue a restraining order on Naia’s private operation especially now “when the country is experiencing an energy crisis and soaring prices of goods and services resulting from the war in the Middle East.”
Caap earlier announced that aeronautical fees, including for landing and takeoff, will be reduced beginning April 1 by nearly 50 per cent, or almost as much as P5,000 per landing.
Meanwhile, the passenger service charge or terminal fee for trips abroad from international airports will be reduced from P900 to P700, while for local trips from international airports, the fee will range from P150 to P200, down from P350.
In Principal Class 1 airports, the terminal fee will be reduced from P300 to around P200 to P150, while Principal Class 2 airports will implement a 50-per cent reduction from P200 to P100. Community airport charges will also go down from P100 to P50.
The reduced rates will benefit passengers in 44 minor commercial airports in the country, but do not cover those passing through Naia since it is no longer operated by Caap, as the lawyers pointed out.
Citing data from MIAA, the group said Naia handled over 52 million passengers in 2025 alone.
They cited further a point made during a 2023 pre-bid conference for the Naia PPP project—that some 80 per cent of the country’s air traffic passes through that airport.
“This gross inequality and discrimination only serve to highlight yet again the grave unconstitutionality and illegality of the Philippine government’s arrangements with the New Naia Infra Corp. for the Naia PPP Project,” the lawyers said. — Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
