CAAP Fails ICAO Audit Again, but

DOTC Secretary Says Otherwise

February 23,2013

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) failed to pass anew the audit of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) conducted from Feb. 18 to 22.

The ICAO Coordinated Validated Mission (ICVM) team delivered the bad news yesterday during a post-audit exit briefing attended by top CAAP and Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) officials.

But DOTC Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya said Saturday that CAAP passed the audit and that the team was actually going to recommend to ICAO headquarters in Montreal, the lifting of the Significant Safety Concerns issued to the Philippines.

“The ICAO official announcement on the lifting of the SSCs is expected to be made within two to three weeks’ time,” Abaya said in a statement.

With ICAO’s upgrade, the country “can now focus on regaining the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Category 1 rating,”  the statement adds.

Malacanang spokesperson Abigail Valte echoed Abaya's position saying ICAO validation team even recommended that the restrictions on the Philippines be lifted.

“The CAAP has successfully addressed all safety concern(s). We feel duty bound to correct the newspaper report because of the negative impact this inaccurate story will have on aviation,” she said this afternoon when interviewed over dzRB Radyo ng Bayan.