Major labor organizations have called on the government to investigate alleged violations in the agreement for the privatization of Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), warning that the absence of independent oversight puts national security and public interest at risk.
In a joint statement, groups including Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino and the National Confederation of Labor pointed out that the government failed to appoint a required independent consultant to monitor the multibillion-peso contract. Signed in 2024 by the Department of Transportation, Manila International Airport Authority, and the New NAIA Infrastructure Corp. consortium led by San Miguel Corp., the deal aims to modernize the airport—long ranked among the world’s worst due to congestion, delays, and poor services.
The labor bodies urged the House of Representatives to check if excessive control was handed to private firms and to review risks to national security, border control, anti-smuggling efforts, and emergency response. They asked Congress to suspend or cancel contract provisions harmful to the public, noting the monitoring role was skipped because it was considered too costly. Without this check, they said, the public has no protection against corporate overreach at a facility used by over 50 million passengers yearly.
The groups also raised concerns about possible worker displacement and the collapse of small businesses operating at the airport. Separately, industry group PUSO ng NAIA said the private operator has already raised fees and travel costs amid high inflation and a weak peso, shifting the financial burden to the public.
“What was promised as modernization now looks like a loss of accountability, labor rights, and national sovereignty,” the groups said in a statement, adding: “A contract without independent oversight is a blank check handed to private interests.”
