DUMAGUETE CITY, Negros Oriental, Philippines – Two Visayan tourism industry players are asking President Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III to review certain provisions in one of two executive orders he signed recently allowing open skies in the country, saying the President might have been “ill-advised” on the matter and could disadvantage the local airline industry.

Said dissenting voices against the Aquino government-backed open skies policy come from former Department of Tourism (DoT) Regional Director Patria Aurora Roa and Fair Trade Alliance Convenor Robert Lim Joseph who said that they welcome the increase of air services into the Philippines but such policy might enable foreign airlines much benefits that if these are not reciprocated by foreign governments, the growth and survival of Philippine carriers could be compromised.

Roa and Joseph particularly pointed at Executive Order 29 which authorizes the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) and the air panels to pursue the aviation liberalization policy more aggressively.

“The executive order (EO 29) is one-sided and is a clear infringement of fairness and equal opportunity,” said Joseph, who is also an advocate of a Fair Open Skies, during a meeting with private sector tourism players in this city recently.

Roa and Joseph stressed that EO 29 “is against the Philippine
interest” and alleged that the “President was again misled by people who have personal interests.”

Joseph pointed out that “the President should have convened the stakeholders first before signing the executive order to get the real pulse of those who are in the industry,” said Joseph.

He said under EO29, foreign airlines will be allowed to fly freely into and out of the country while Philippine carriers are limited to flights specified in existing air agreements with other countries.

DOT 7 Director Rowena Montecillo, however, made assurances that the Government will not allow the apprehensions of those who oppose the open skies policy to happen. She said the plight of local carriers will always be put into consideration when negotiations with foreign airlines begin to take place.

“This (open skies policy) will not kill our local carriers. They are not being left out in the discussions,” Montecillo said, adding that the local carriers will still be prioritized.

She also stressed that the open skies policy will bring in more tourists to areas served by secondary airports because more foreign flights are certain to bring in tourists.

Montecillo made the assurance after Cebu Pacific, now the largest airline in the Philippines, also expressed concerns about certain provisions in the executive order allowing open skies in the country.