The camp of former Manila International Airport Authority general manager Cesar Chiong on Friday vowed to “fight all the way” to clear his name, and push for much-needed reforms at the airport to give the public a better flying experience and trigger economic growth, especially through tourism.
Chiong became the subject of an anonymous complaint after implementing a plan to reassign 285 personnel to enhance airport services and efficiency.
The complaint does not involve any corruption issue and not one of the affected employees was terminated and majority or 201 of the re-assignments came from the airport police department whose reassignments were done pursuant to the security requirements in the four passenger airport terminals at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) and were all recommended by the Airport Police Department chief and the assistant general manager for Security and Emergency Services.
The Ombudsman initially suspended him and his co-accused, OIC-assistant general for Finance and Administration Irene Montalbo, but dismissed them from the service early this week.
Chiong’s camp, in a statement said, it is worth noting that Chiong’s predecessors reassigned even larger numbers of personnel without facing any legal repercussions. Former M/Gen. Jose Angel Honrado (Ret.) reassigned 646 employees, while Eddie Monreal reassigned 397 personnel during comparable periods, Chiong said in his petition with the Court of Appeals filed long before the dismissal decision of the Ombudsman.
Furthermore, nearly 800 airport personnel have rallied behind Chiong and Montalbo by signing a manifesto, saying “only now have they experienced transparent and honest management in the agency.”
Early into his stint last year, Chiong made significant changes to enhance the airport experience for the public. He removed X-ray machines obstructing terminal entrances and eliminated security guards flagging vehicles before accessing the ramp. These unnecessary measures incurred extensive costs amounting to hundreds of millions of pesos annually, while exacerbating the public’s frustrations.
Additionally, Chiong and Montalbo successfully collected outstanding receivables totaling billions of pesos, paving the way for the financial stability of the authority. MIAA’s cash balance, which stood at P5 billion in July 2022, has now surged to approximately P15 billion, and the authority is now debt-free.
Furthermore, MIAA reported an impressive income of P1.9 billion in 2022, a striking turnaround from the combined losses of P3.6 billion suffered in 2020 and 2021. Notably, passenger numbers have surged from 7.8 million in 2021 to around 31 million in 2022, with Naia expecting to handle close to 47 million passengers by the end of this year.
Chiong, in his petition with the Court of Appeals, questioned the jurisdiction of the Ombudsman.
He said the anonymous complainants were supposed to have exhausted administrative remedies first and filed with the Civil Service Commission instead of with the Ombudsman.
He also said as general manager, he had the authority to re-assign personnel, which he did without any diminution in their status, pay and rank.
Chiong resolute in fight vs airport reforms’ opposers, lists accomplishments as MIAA chief
Source: News Paper Radio
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