Palace rejects Miascor’s appeal to renew contract

THE Palace has rejected the appeal of Miascor Groundhandling Corp. to be reinstated as an aviation services provider of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) and Clark International Airport.

Palace spokesman Harry Roque Jr. issued the statement two days after President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the termination of Miascor’s contract because of the theft incident that victimized a returning overseas Filipino worker, who lost P84,000.

Roque argued that there was nothing to appeal as the government had no existing contract with Miascor. The Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA)’s lease and concession agreement contract with Miascor expired in March 2017.

“In light of the recent directive of the President, the position of the MIAA is not to renew the contract following its expiration because of many cases or instances of pilferage, both in the Ninoy Aquino International Airport and Clark International Airport. These include the theft of the baggage of a Turkish diplomat’s wife and the alleged involvement of a Miascor supervisor in illegal drugs,” Roque said in a statement.

“We have to look at the bigger picture: Our national interest is of paramount importance. In particular, we need to protect airport travelers from baggage theft, especially overseas Filipino workers who work so hard to earn a living, and to make sure that potential tourists and investors are not turned off by such incidents at the airport,” Roque added.

Roque, however, assured the public that that there would be no service disruption as a result of the

The Palace spokesman also said the sudden unemployment of Miascor employees was not an excuse for the government to toler

“We are concerned with the workers but we cannot give their employer a concession on that basis alone, considering all the theft incidents by Miascor,” Roque said.

personnel would be absorbed by other ground handlers.

“The fact is the jobs are there Miascor,” Roque added.

The Palace also rejected the proposal to put up action desks in the country’s airports since “NAIA authorities have been proven effective in this regard” Roque said.