1. Full body scanners at NAIA mulled
MANILA, Philippines – By next year, travelers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport may find themselves in a literally revealing and potentially humiliating situation.
Plans are afoot for the acquisition of full body scanners to upgrade standard security checks on arriving and departing passengers at the airports, according to the Manila International Airport Authority.
Vicente Guerzon Jr., MIAA's assistant general manager for security and emergency services, said the agency was firming up plans and hoping to complete the purchase of the “high-value” equipment in 2012.
In an interview, he said he was aware that the scanners might provoke a public outcry, considering how some of the models exposed an individual's privates.
Guerzon noted that the use of the equipment had been generating controversy in the United States and provoking debates about where to draw the line between privacy rights and the need to enforce security.
Mindful of the possible backlash, he said the MIAA would hold talks with the Commission on Human Rights to discuss the parameters on the use of the full body scanners.
Among the issues to be raised would be whether to use the scanners on everyone or on randomly selected individuals, and how many security personnel to be involved during the process, he said.
He said it was not yet clear how much the scanners would cost, but added that the MIAA might need at least 35 of them for the international and domestic terminals.
Guerzon said his office had submitted the terms of reference for the acquisition to the MIAA bids and awards committee.
The NAIA has been on heightened alert since Tuesday's deadly bus bombing on Edsa, deploying twice the usual number of security guards and increasing patrols by bomb-sniffing dogs.
Guerzon said the 600 security guards had been doubled, and so had the 60 members of the Philippine National Police Aviation Security Group assigned at the airport complex.
He said airport police were also conducting more patrols and intensifying intelligence activities. “We're gathering and sharing intelligence with other agencies to update our security assessment,” he said in an interview.
So far, he said there have been no intelligence reports indicating that the NAIA might be a target of a terrorist attack.
2. Flash floods hit metro Cebu anew
CEBU CITY, Philippines – Heavy rains spawned flash floods in parts of metro Cebu anew on Thursday.
The floods affected Cebu City and Talisay City, where a creek in Barangay Cansojong overflowed its banks, residents said.
Villagers were forced to use kayaks to cross the flood, which inundated houses.
Bad weather, meanwhile, forced aviation authorities to either cancel or delay some domestic flights heading to and from Cebu.
The affected flights include the Bacolod-Cebu 57 125 and Cebu Surigao 5J 857.
Heavy rains also prompted public school officials to suspend classes.
Classes have already been suspended for 2 days at the Banilad Elementary School, while Subang Daku Elementary School and Cesar Cabahug Elementary School suffered damage from strong winds.
The Cebu City Engineer’s Office blamed informal settlers living in creeks for the floods that hit the city this week.
The city government plans to spend P120 million to dredge creeks in Cebu.
3. Pilot schools to be moved out of NAIA
THE CIVIL Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) wants aviation schools to transfer to regional airports to decongest from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).
Ramon S. Gutierrez, CAAP officer-in-charge, told reporters at the sidelines of an aviation summit last week the state-owned Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) will take charge in the implementation of the plan.
“The plan is still in principle and we are actually expecting resistance from the aviation school administrators, owners and students as most of them are foreigners. Most of the foreign students want to attend an aviation school near NAIA because they go to their home countries from time to time,” he said.
However, Mr. Gutierrez said allowing regional airports to house the aviation schools would translate to additional revenues as most of these airports have lower flight frequencies compared with NAIA.
“This will be part of CAAP and MIAA’s immediate plans. This will give these small airports additional revenues as they only generate revenues from air navigation fees for the airports,” he said.
Mr. Gutierrez said his agency broke even last year with close to P3 billion in revenues.
“Our revenues last year will be just enough for the maintenance but will not be enough for capital expenses. It will not be enough to maintain 86 airports. We will give the schools the preference which regional airport they would want to go to,” he said.
In July last year, CAAP ordered an audit of all 63 aviation schools in the country as the agency discovered that fake licenses had been issued to some student pilots.
4. Manila airport on heightened alert again
MANILA, Philippines—The authorities have placed the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on heightened alert in the wake of Tuesday’s deadly bus bombing on Edsa, deploying twice the usual number of security guards and increasing patrols by bomb-sniffing dogs.
The heightened alert came a day after airport officials announced a similar heightened state of alert at the airport following a terrorist attack on an airport in Moscow.
Vicente Guerzon Jr., the Manila International Airport Authority’s assistant general manager for security and emergency services, said the 600 security guards has been doubled, and so has the 60 members of the Philippine National Police Aviation Security Group assigned at the airport complex.
He said airport police were also conducting more patrols and intensifying intelligence activities.
“We're gathering and sharing intelligence with other agencies to update our security assessment,” he said in an interview.
So far, he said there have been no intelligence reports indicating the NAIA might be the target of a terrorist attack.
“We're also regularly having K-9 patrols at the three terminals,” he added. Security personnel also routinely check incoming passenger buses and taxis for any suspicious packages, Guerzon said.
He said the authorities have also begun the process of acquiring full-body X-ray scanners by next year.
Guerzon said his office had submitted the terms of reference for the “high-value” acquisition to the bids and awards committee.
He said they would also hold talks with the Commission on Human Rights to discuss the parameters of the use of the full-body scanners, noting that the equipment has drawn resistance in places like the United States.
The raised alert level at NAIA also came in the aftermath of the bombing at a Moscow airport that left more than 30 persons dead and several dozen others injured.
MIAA General Manager Jose Angel Honrado earlier said he was closely monitoring the situation in Russia and watching out for information that might point to the NAIA terminals as a possible target.
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