Department of Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista on Wednesday acknowledged recommending Cesar Chiong as the now suspended general manager of the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA).
“The general manager of the airport was my recommendation to the President. He was appointed in July [last year] and since then he has implemented a lot of reforms to improve passenger service but in doing so moved some people to various positions,” Bautista told executives at the forum hosted by the Makati Business Club on Wednesday.
According to him, Chiong merely moved personnel around but never removed anyone from positions they hold at the MIAA.
He also said he was informed that Chiong was “never asked to explain or (made) aware that a case was filed against him.”
The Ombudsman has ordered a six-month suspension against Chiong and his assistant general manager Irene Montalvo for alleged grave abuse of authority, grave misconduct and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service.
The complaint orginated from an anonymous sender citing Chiong’s supposed decision to transfer 285 MIAA workers for a month.
Chinog’s preventive suspension came a day after a power failure hit NAIA Terminal 3, resulting in the cancellation of over 40 flights.
Bautista said Chiong was only doing his job to improve services at the airport.
He said Chiong was unaware of the filing of a complaint against him before the Ombudsman.
