Pathetic smoke screen

In the rush to restore the critical operation of directing aircraft, the problem got only worse as the backup system also malfunctioned.

Instead of accepting responsibility for the palpable neglect that led to the critical air traffic system in practically the entire country bogging down, the efforts, sadly, had turned to looking for scapegoats.

The senators who are always on the lookout for headline grabbers said the probe on the New Year mess at the airport will include allegations that the P13 billion budget for a backup for the Communications, Navigation and Surveillance for Air Traffic Management or CNS/ATM was diverted in the previous administration.

The real diversion, however, is among the arguments of fools who believe that they can escape blame by buck-passing the airport blunder to the previous administration.

The silly effort has backfired on the source of the yarn as the public questioned the obvious return to the yellow mob’s practice of bashing the past regime for the obvious fault of those running the show.

Among the many issues, critics said, “Can they not be on top of this issue? It happened more than six months after they assumed office. They have to take responsibility regardless.”

Thus, the embarrassing faux pas, based on the initial findings, were due to neglect as critical airport equipment lacked maintenance since the takeover of the new airport officials.

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines pointed to the source of the system malfunction — the fan of an uninterruptible power system which caused a domino effect in the breakdown of equipment.

In the rush to restore the critical operation of directing aircraft, the problem got only worse as the backup system also malfunctioned, and the effort to bypass it resulted in a power surge that led to the ultimate disaster.

Air maintenance, according to an aviation expert, falls under the mandate of the CAAP.

“There was no problem with the equipment which was recently acquired. UPS needs regular battery replacement and systems check to ensure fail-safe systems are working,” according to the expert.

The expert said the decisions made to restore the system may have caused the problem to worsen, instead of resolving it.

The breakdown in the air traffic system at NAIA practically closed down the airspace of the country since the CAAP system covers the entire country.

He added that the main cause of the incident is the negligence of the present. “That’s the whole reason and not the past administration.”

“UPS systems ought to be tested and verified for business continuity planning. They should regularly be checked since it is a critical facility. There should be enough redundancy in the system to avoid a complete shutdown,” according to the source.

“If the backup system also did not work, then it means the system was not being properly maintained or being regularly inspected. There was negligence. Someone is sleeping on the job,” he added.

Those being made to explain should man up and face the issue squarely instead of resorting to obfuscation.

“The

silly effort has backfired on the source of the yarn as the public questioned the obvious return to the yellow mob’s practice of bashing the past regime.