A Family Corporation called CAAP

Aviation chief criticized for hiring 109 relatives

September 18, 2009

By Christine F. Herrera

AN OFFICIAL has demanded a lifestyle check on the head of the Civil Aviation Authority, saying he has surrounded himself with consultants—mostly relatives-—who receive P2.113 million a month.

Surigao del Sur Rep. Philip Pichay said Aviation chief Ruben Ciron had 109 consultants who were drawing P18,000 to P25,000 in salaries.

“I can’t understand why Ciron needs 109 consultants. Most of them are husbands and wives or brothers and sisters... who bloat the payroll,” Pichay told the House committee on appropriations.

“What is this, a family corporation?”

Pichay was angered by the radar failure at the Manila airport that grounded domestic and international flights on Sunday.

He told Ciron, who was present when Transport secretary Leandro Mendoza presented his department’s P15.07-billion budget for House approval, to resign for incompetence and negligence.

He wanted to know why Ciron made cash advances amounting to P5 million from May to September this year. His advances totaled P500,000 in July alone, and he made them in three consecutive days, he said.

Pichay said the 109 consultants were based in the Aviation Authority’s head office alone, and he had yet to find out how many more had been hired in the country’s other airports.

“Ciron should resign due to incompetence and negligence,” he said.

“He is a technical guy for being a fighter pilot and has a master in theology. CAAP has problem with management.”

Ciron was quiet while Pichay was scolding him.

The Aviation Authority has blamed Manila Electric Co. for the power failure that made the radar fail at the Manila airport, but Meralco said it had nothing to do with the radar’s failure.