A coalition of airport users and workers on Tuesday criticized the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for its role in the concession agreement to modernize the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), saying the deal forces the public to pay for upgrades through a massive increase in fees.
Pagkakaisa ng Users, Stakeholders at Obrero ng NAIA (PUSO ng NAIA) head secretariat Romy Sauler, a former Philippine Airlines employee, called the ADB’s involvement an “unconscionable dictate.” He said the private operator, not passengers and workers, should be responsible for financing the airport’s modernization.
“This is highway robbery dressed up as development,” Sauler said. “We do not want to believe that the ADB and the Marcos government are colluding with San Miguel to bleed passengers and workers dry while ensuring billions in profit.”
The group held a protest outside the ADB headquarters in Ortigas to demonstrate against a proposed fee increase at NAIA that is set to take effect on Sept. 14, 2025.
Ding Villasin, secretary general of the labor group Socialista Inc., said the concession agreement violates democratic processes and social justice principles.
“The ADB itself has global standards on transparency and stakeholder consultation, yet in this case, it allowed the Marcos administration … to ram through a deal without the voice of the very people who will pay for it,” Villasin said. “This is development at gunpoint—undemocratic, anti-worker, and anti-consumer.”
Sauler said the group sent a formal letter to the ADB last week seeking clarification on the bank’s advisory role in the deal but had not yet received a reply.
“It is a pity that we have not received even an electronic form of reply from an institution that professes open and sincere dialogues,” he said.
The coalition slammed the ADB for allegedly recommending that consumers and workers bear the cost of the redevelopment, which the group claims shields San Miguel’s New NAIA Infrastructure Corp. (NNIC) from risk while guaranteeing profits.
“We refuse to be treated as milking cows for privatization,” the leaders said.
Sauler said “the fight against unjust fees at NAIA is a fight for the dignity of every Filipino worker, traveler and consumer.”
