Cebu airport ground handler hounded by baggage thefts

CEBU CITY – Cases of baggage pilferage involving workers of an aviation services company at the Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA) led to the cancellation of the firm’s ground handling contract.

The GMR-Megawide Cebu Airport Corp. (GMCAC), the airport’s private operator, issued the clarification after the company, Miascor, questioned the cancellation of its Letter of Award, a move that would pave the way for a new sevenyear contract.

“We want clarity. We want explanations why the Letter of Award was cancelled so that we will know what actions to take next. We already had the meeting of the minds and it perplexed us that the Letter of Award was cancelled,” Earl Versoza, Miascor’s general manager for Visayas and Mindanao, said in a press conference last week.

In a press statement, GMCAC said Miascor’s contract with Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA) expired on October 31, 2015.

GMCAC said Miascor was one of four firms that were given Letters of Award for new ground handling contracts effective June, 2018.

But GMCAC said a Letter of Award is not a contract but a preparatory stage to enter into a contract.

GMCAC said that last February 15, it received a letter from MCIAA prohibiting the award of a ground handling contract to Miascor following baggage pilferage incidents at Clark International Airport and Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

“It was their directive that ground handlers doing business at MCIA should have unquestioned integrity and spotless records,” said GMCAC.

Miascor’s failure to disclose the thefts also contributed to the cancellation of the Letter of Award.

“Under the terms of the bid, our bidders were required under a specific clause to disclose any material information relating to their performance that GMCAC should be aware of,” said GMCAC.

GMCAC said Miascor failed to disclose the 18 of 26 alleged baggage pilferage cases at NAIA.

Miascor is in charge of ground handling operations at NAIA, MCIA, Clark, Kalibo and Davao airports. It has at least 600 workers.