The privatization program of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport bodes more hardship for Filipinos. Through a public-private partnership between San Miguel Corporation and the Marcos Jr. government, the already poorly-operated NAIA will surely burden the 6,000 OFWs who fly out of the country everyday with worse services and higher expenses in the name of profit.
A privatized NAIA means higher airport expenses for passengers and airlines. Terminal fees at the international airport are set to rise from Php 550 to Php 950 for international flights. Takeoff fees are also set to rise every five years, spelling airfare hikes in the future. The San Miguel-run airport consortium is likely to add and hike more airport-related fees in the future.
OFWs are exempt from paying airport taxes and terminal fees because of the Migrant Workers Act of 1995, won by Filipino migrants through a hard-fought mass struggle in the wake of Flor Contemplacion’s execution. But these exemptions require OFWs to present their Overseas Employment Contracts (OECs). The Philippine government requires OFWs to pay their OECs, along with mandatory fees such as OWWA membership and PhilHealth contributions, before they migrate for work.
Some land-based OFWs also have to pay for their own plane tickets when their employers refuse to pay for airfare, a violation of OFW contracts that the DMW does not enforce. Airport fee exemptions do not apply to families who wish to visit their OFW loved ones after years of separation.
All these fee hikes will bring down the amount of money that Filipino migrants can send to their loved ones even before they can think of seeing them again. These burdens incense migrant workers especially because the government is supposed to be running public services such as airports. The Marcos Jr. regime is escaping its responsibility and abandoning us to the wolves of private ownership.
San Miguel’s promises of better airport services under their management are blusters to millions of Filipinos. Companies like San Miguel are behind the privatization of electricity, water, and other public utilities, driving up living costs and worsening quality of services. Filipinos should be offended by false promises of a faster NAIA, especially migrants.
OFWs are no stranger to neoliberal attacks on their livelihoods, which is what forces many abroad in the first place. Even in host countries, consular services are slow, coercing migrant workers to pay for third-party private services to speed up passport renewals. To secure an OEC, migrants are also forced to pay dues to an unregulated OWWA that fails to deliver services. A privatized NAIA is another burden that migrant workers do not deserve to shoulder.
The rehabilitation of NAIA should not come at the expense of OFWs and the people. Only a major corporation like San Miguel would stand to benefit from a NAIA in their hands. Filipino migrants deserve services and public utilities that prioritize welfare at home and abroad, not profit for the few.
