Airport privatization to displace workers

CLARK FREEPORT, Pampanga – Hundreds of employees of the Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) are worried over their livelihood after at least eight private firms bid for the management and operation of the airport.

“We are still uncertain about what lies ahead for us in the privatization of the operation and management being pushed by CIAC’s parent company, the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA),” a statement issued by the Samahan ng mga Manggagawa sa Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (SMDM) read.

The airport was used to be named after former president Diosdado Macapagal.

The SMDM officers urged all their 340 members to join activities aimed at pressuring the BCDA to disclose its plan for workers who would be affected by the privatization.

The statement said even the CIAC board of directors are being left in dark on the issue.

“This is unusual because BCDA president and chief executive officer Vicencio Dizon and Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the CIAC board of directors,” SMDM president Manuel Bañez said.

He said both officials were absent during the last board meeting.

Bañez said Dizon was represented at the meeting by Joshua Bingcang, BCDA senior vice president for business development.

“Until this time, when the privatization plan is becoming clearer, our fate is still uncertain. It is not only the future of CIAC that is at stake here but the future of our families as well,” Bañez said.

Lawyer Anne Lorraine Adorable-Inton, one of the CIAC’s directors, called for a special board meeting on May 30 to review the terms of reference of the privatization.

Bañez said the CIAC personnel department has been flooded with inquiries from union members since the prebidding for the privatization was made public.

“The SMDM failed to get an answer from personnel manager Gerry Naguit on the fate of our members because the BCDA has yet to divulge to the CIAC management the details on how this project will affect the employees,” Bañez said.