VZCZCXYZ0001
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHML #0202/01 0250502
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 250502Z JAN 08
FM AMEMBASSY MANILA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9501
RHMFIUU/FAA NATIONAL HQ WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RULSDMK/DEPT OF TRANSPORTATION WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
INFO RUEHGP/AMEMBASSY SINGAPORE IMMEDIATE 7321
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO IMMEDIATE 3454

UNCLAS MANILA 000202 
 
SIPDIS 
 
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SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MTS AND EEB/TRA/AN 
FAA FOR API-1/AFS-1/AVS-1 
SINGAPORE FOR FAA REP 
TOKYO FOR FAA CARL STROMBOM 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAIR ECON RP
SUBJECT:  PHILIPPINES CIVAIR: FAA MEETING WITH DEPARTMENT OF 
TRANSPORTATION AND COMMUNICATION SECRETARY MENDOZA 
 
REF: STATE 149143 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary: Regional U.S. Federal Aviation Administration 
(FAA) representatives met with Philippine Department of 
Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza on January 23-24 to discuss 
how to improve air safety in the Philippines and regain a Category 1 
safety rating for Philippine civil aviation.  Mendoza was ordered by 
President Arroyo to take over the Air Transportation Office, after 
Acting Assistant Secretary Daniel Dimagiba was dismissed on January 
18th.  In the meetings, Mendoza focused on the passage of a new 
civil aviation bill (reftel) and did not seem to fully appreciate 
the difficulty involved in rectifying the many problems the FAA 
inspection report had identified.  Separately, Air Transport Office 
Legal Office Chief Deo Deocampo expressed dissatisfaction to the FAA 
representatives with the foreign consultants now working there.  End 
Summary. 
 
New CivAir Bill Rapidly Moving Forward 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) The civil aviation bill (House Bill No. 3156) has now been 
passed by both houses of the Philippines Congress and is undergoing 
bicameral review before submission to the President for signature 
(copies of the bill have been provided to Washington agencies). 
Secretary Mendoza was hopeful that the bill would be signed into law 
 
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by early February.  Among other things, the bill will exempt civil 
aviation bureau employees from government wage scales and allow 
salaries high enough to retain highly skilled employees such as 
pilots and air traffic controllers.  Mendoza said the higher 
salaries alone would address the majority of problems identified by 
the FAA, since most of the problems were caused by the inability to 
retain skilled personnel who could earn higher salaries elsewhere. 
 
 
Mendoza Will Seek FAA Assistance 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) The Secretary acknowledged that time would be needed for 
recruitment and training of new employees, but said several of the 
other FAA identified problems had already been addressed, such as 
the need for centralized record keeping.  He indicated he had the 
full support of Philippine President Arroyo, who had already 
approved a 110 million peso request for supplemental funds for 
staffing and personnel training at the new civil aviation bureau. 
Initially, he seemed at a loss to answer say anything specific about 
what technical assistance the Philippines needed from the FAA or 
from elsewhere.  However, in later conversations Mendoza said he 
would make a formal request to the FAA to have an FAA safety advisor 
work with Philippine officials to help them better understand the 
technical measures that need to be undertaken to retain Category 1 
status. 
 
ICAO Advisors Criticized 
------------------------ 
 
¶4.  (SBU) In conjunction with the recent downgrade to Category 2 
status under the FAA's International Aviation Safety Audit (IASA) 
program, the Philippine Government is considering hiring a private 
consulting firm to advise them on measures needed a Category 1 
rating.  Secretary Mendoza also asked for FAA's help in identifying 
possible private sector aviation safely consultants.  Secretary 
Mendoza mentioned that they continue to rely on the services of five 
aviation specialists from the International Civil Aviation 
Organization (ICAO).  In a separate meeting, Legal Chief Deo 
Deocampo expressed to the FAA representatives strong dissatisfaction 
with the performance of the ICAO team and indicated they were of 
little use in addressing identified safety deficiencies. 
 
Air Show in Singapore 
--------------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) DOTC Undersecretary for Civil Aviation Edward Pagunsan 
plans to attend the Singapore Air Show scheduled during the week of 
Feb. 18.  He said that, if possible, he would like to meet with 
senior FAA officials who will also be in attendance at the Air Show. 
 Secretary Mendoza mentioned he would consider flying to Singapore 
if a high level meeting with U.S. officials there could be arranged 
and wondered out loud if that would be an appropriate time to make a 
formal request for assistance from FAA safety advisor. 
 
Plans for Major Expansion of Air Infrastructure 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Secretary Mendoza also briefly discussed his Department's 
plans to accommodate an enormous increase in air traffic in the 
Philippines, which involved the construction or upgrading of 35 
Philippine airports.  He mentioned new international airports in 
Iloilo and Bacolod that were world class, and plans to turn the 
former Clark Airfield (now called Diosdado Macapagal International 
Airport or DMIA) into the major international gateway for the 
Philippines.  The Secretary said he would chair the ASEAN Transport 
Ministers meeting to be held in the Philippines in December where 
ASEAN members were expected to sign an open skies agreement between 
their capital airports that would greatly increase regional travel. 
(Note: Other Philippines officials have discussed the possibility of 
designating DMIA as the Philippine national capital airport in order 
to gain maximum advantage from this ASEAN agreement.  A PRC-financed 
feasibility study on upgrading DMIA was rejected on December 12, 
2007 for being too simple, among other reasons, and a new 
Korean-financed feasibility study has now begun.  End note.) 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Secretary Mendoza said Japan, China, and Korea were 
expected to join this ASEAN aviation arrangement in the future.  The 
Secretary described briefly the open transport arrangement already 
 
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in effect between Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and the 
southern Philippines islands of Mindanao and Palawan, and noted the 
new Korean-financed and constructed international airport being 
built in Cagayan de Oro in Mindanao.  Korea signed an air agreement 
with the Philippines last year that gives it access to all 
Philippine international airports. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) The FAA representatives indicated they thought that the 
meetings were very productive.  However, they were concerned that 
the Philippines Government has not yet organized an effective 
response and action plan to the IASA to regain Category 1 status. 
The Senior FAA Representative offered to assist Secretary Mendoza 
coordinate any future requests for FAA technical assistance or 
possible meetings with appropriate senior FAA officials.  The FAA 
representatives stressed the need to ask for assistance if any 
assistance was needed from various USG agencies.  Despite the 
intense media coverage of the FAA downgrade over the past week, 
there was no media presence during or after the meetings with the 
Secretary, and no questions asked by reporters at other meetings. 
 
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¶9.  (U) This cable was cleared by the Regional Senior FAA 
Representative Carl Strombom before he departed Manila. 
 
Kenney