Why only CAAP’s Gutierrez? Why not BI’s David?

BRUBAL THRUSTS

Why only CAAP’s Gutierrez? Why not BI’s David?

By Louie Logarta

Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) chief Ramon Gutierrez has just been given his marching orders. His replacement, former Philippine Air Force commander William Hotchkiss III, was designated by Malacañang sometime last month.

Hotchkiss’ appointment, said to have emanated from the desk of Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa, was thrust down the gullet of Transportation Secretary Mar Roxas who had no option but to abide by the order.

We’re told, however, that the reshuffle can be deemed irregular because according to the law. Gutierrez should have been enjoying a fixed four-year term. Since he replaced in March 2011 former CAAP chief Alfonso Cusi, who served during the time of former President Arroyo, this means technically he should have had until 2015 before relinquishing his post.

Apparently, the Aquino administration doesn’t give a hoot about Civil Service rules regarding tenure of office accorded to heads of certain state agencies, and would rather adhere to the dictum “he who rules makes the rules.”

Also, while the CAAP remains under the umbrella of the Department of Transportation and Communications, the law that created the body — Republic Act No. 9497 — explicitly states it is “autonomous, independent, self-governing, sovereign and separate.”

From what we had gathered, Gutierrez’ demise from the regulatory body is directly attributable to his failure to restore the Philippines to Category 1 status (which it enjoyed five years ago) one year after assuming office.

For this, he was found to be “incompetent” to continue further in his post, which is supposedly in consonance with the GOCC Governance Act of 2011.

Category 1 status is the classification given by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to countries who are deemed to have complied with strict safety and security standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

Among the serious issues the Philippines had to address for Category 1 status, according to the FAA, were the lack of regulations needed to support the certification and oversight of air carriers in accordance with minimum international standards; lack of technical expertise, resources and organization to license or oversee air-carrier operations; lack of adequately trained and qualified technical personnel; lack of adequate inspector guidance to ensure enforcement and compliance with minimum international standards; and insufficient documentation and records of certification and inadequate continuing oversight and surveillance of air-carrier operations.

Now, can General Hotchkiss, said to be the younger brother of PAF Col. Charles Hotchkiss who led a helicopter squadron in defecting to the rebel ranks during the height of Edsa I, address these concerns raised by the FAA within the same time frame given to Gutierrez?

Highly unlikely.

Last month, I came across this story saying the Philippines, due to its miserable failure in addressing the worsening problem of human trafficking and in putting to jail those illegal recruiters who continue to prey on them, has remained in Tier 2 status in the US State Department’s latest report on human trafficking.

In the above mentioned report, the State Department said that although the Philippines had made significant efforts to fight human trafficking on its shores, there was no progress in criminally prosecuting officials of labor recruitment companies involved in the trafficking of migrant workers, and efforts to protect them from the same were sorely inadequate.

The report noted that while the budget of the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) was increased from $210,000 in 2010 to $1.5 million in 2011, it still didn’t “fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking.”

The report described the Philippines unflatteringly as “a source country and, to a much lesser extent, a destination and transit country for men, women, and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor.”

It said rampant corruption exists at all levels and “continues to enable traffickers and undermines efforts to combat trafficking.”

Because of this, a significant number of OFWs endure rape, sexual abuse and physical violence and skilled workers, like nurses and engineers, are subjected to forced labor conditions. Sex trafficking, it noted, is common in countries such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Japan; unfortunately, these places are the most common destinations of Filipinas.

Tier 1 countries are Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, South Korea, the Netherlands, Spain, United Kingdom and the US.

In Tier 2 status are Japan, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Qatar, Rwanda, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Serbia, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Indonesia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Swaziland, Switzerland, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palau and Panama. The Philippines was upgraded to Tier 2 status in 2011 from Tier 2 watchlist.

Countries placed in the Tier 2 watchlist are Afghanistan, Angola, the Bahamas, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Barbados, Belarus, Burma, Burundi, China, Congo, Ecuador, Haiti, Iraq, Kenya, Macau, Malaysia, Russia and South Sudan.

Those in Tier 3 are North Korea, Algeria, Congo, Cuba, Iran, Kuwait, Libya, Madagascar, Papua New Guinea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Yemen and Syria.

Now, I’m just asking, if Gutierrez was replaced in the CAAP by Malacañang for his failure in restoring the country to the FAA’s Category 1, why not Immigration Commissioner Ricardo David Jr., the de facto anti-human trafficking czar, for his failure to curb human trafficking and illegal recruitment in the country?

If Gutierrez was sacked for alleged incompetence after only 14 months in office, why not David? David, who was among P-Noy’s first batch of appointees when he assumed power, has been chief of the Bureau of Immigration for 24 months, so he definitely had more time to prove his mettle but didn’t.

So, why only Gutierrez, and not also David? Sauce for the goose not good for the gander?