The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines says it has been working to correct flaws in the air traffic service and lift the disallowance imposed by the Commission on Audit on P1 billion in pay increases and bonuses given to employees.
All efforts of the CAAP to increase plantilla positions and provide employees with pay commensurate to their skills, however, depend on the approval of the Governance Commission on Government-Owned and Controlled Corporations, according to CAAP deputy director-general for administration Artemio Orozco.
“We have long been aware of the situation of our air traffic controllers and have been working to increase the number of plantilla positions in the air traffic service.”
Orozco said that the CAAP also wants to fill vacant positions to beef up the thinning ranks of the air traffic controllers.
“While our recruitment is continuing, there are currently only a total of 657 approved plantilla positions in the air traffic service. Only 115 are available for air traffic management officer I (ATMO-I), the entry-level, and we have 315 assistant ATMOs and assistant air traffic controllers who are employed on a job-order basis,” he explained.
A pre-screening review is ongoing for the promotion of ATMOs to the next higher level. This is after the Civil Service Commission approved last year amendments to the qualifications standards, which the CAAP sought in 2013.
Likewise, the CAAP official said, a restructuring plan pertaining to the increase in plantilla positions remains pending approval by the GCG. The CAAP restructuring program will increase the approved plantilla positions for ATMOs to 1,200 that will then regularize the status of the job-order hires.
“Employees of the air traffic control service have been doing their job effectively and efficiently even if they are understandably demoralized. CAAP recognizes their hard work and is doing its part to make sure that their skills and efforts are well compensated. They are vital to keeping our skies safe,” Orozco said, citing an International Civil Aviation Organization requirement for an internationally competitive compensation package in aviation authorities.
CAAP has been seeking the reversal of the May 2015 disallowance by the Commission on Audit and the GCG of salary increases and bonuses of nearly P1 billion already given to the agency’s employees since 2012.
The CoA and GCG disapproved the salary increases for 1,775 technical posts given since October 2012 as well as six months worth of bonuses in 2012, 2013 and 2014, which were approved by the CAAP board to boost the morale of the employees who succeeded in reinstating and maintaining category 1 rating from the Federal Aviation Administration; removing the country from the ICAO’s list of countries with significant safety concerns; and lifting the European Union ban against Philippine air carriers.
