CLARK FREEPORT, Pampanga, Philippines – President Aquino is set to issue this month an executive order (EO) enforcing an open skies policy nationwide except Manila, thus opening the country’s secondary airports to foreign airlines.
Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim and Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima confirmed this during Aquino’s visit here for the launching of the first SeaAir Airbus plane and the groundbreaking of the Medical City in this freeport.
Purisima said the EO is ready for signature by the President and should be enforced before yearend.
The EO, he said, will open the country’s secondary airports nationwide to foreign airlines, except the international airports in Manila.
“The economic managers have agreed on this. It is for the interest of the country,” he said, adding that the EO will virtually be a total open skies policy, except for the so-called aviation fifth freedom of foreign airlines to pick up local passengers bound for a destination in a third country.
“In formulating policies, the interest of the majority comes first,” he said, alluding to opposition from some local airlines calling for protection of the local aviation industry.
“There will be more competition, some will be challenged, but the move will be vibrant for the country’s economy. There are about 40 million Filipinos who are suffering (from poverty) and many are unemployed,” he said.
Lim declined to give more information about the open skies EO, saying he did not want to preempt the President, but he also noted that the presidential fiat would cover all secondary airports in the country except Manila.
Purisima said the Aquino government would like to make open skies more permanent by pushing for legislation on it.
“If the people understand it and the project succeeds, the members of Congress who are supposed to represent the people will pass legislation to make open skies a more permanent policy,” he said.
Avelino Zapanta, SeaAir president and chief executive officer, said he supported the open skies move because despite competition from foreign airlines, the policy would bring in more tourists and boost local tourism to such extent that, in the long run, even local airlines would benefit.
He said that while some secondary airports in the provinces could not yet accommodate big aircraft, foreign airlines will always have the option to use smaller airplanes.
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