EDITORIAL - CAAP brain drain

Government officials are reassuring the public that they are fixing the technical problem that shut down Philippine airspace on the first day of the year. New cooling fans, circuit breakers and uninterrupted power supply systems are reportedly being procured to prevent a repeat of the national embarrassment that occurred at the

Ninoy Aquino International Airport on Jan. 1.

Apart from technical issues, however, manpower problems are emerging again at the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, which is in charge of air traf-fic management. Yesterday, CAAP director general Manuel Antonio Tamayo sought a pay increase for air traffic controllers to prevent them from seeking greener pastures overseas mostly in the Middle East. Tamayo noted that the pay in certain countries can be six times higher than what the Philippines offers to its air traffic controllers.

This problem was first raised way back in 2014, when CAAP personnel sought the help of then senator Bam Aquino following the departure of five air traffic controllers for abroad. Documents submitted to Aquino by CAAP personnel at the time showed that apart from low pay, contractual schemes also bedeviled the air traffic officers. Of some 500 air traffic controllers recruited by CAAP from the Civil Aviation Training Center, Aquino said 195 were on job-order status. He noted that since the CAAP’s creation in 2008 through Republic Act 9497, no graduate of the CATC had become a regular employee.

CAAP officials said air traffic controllers undergo at least 18 months of training before being deployed to an air traffic management facility anywhere in the country for apprenticeship and capability rating. Upon completion of these requirements, however, the new air traffic controllers are drawn to jobs overseas with much higher pay.

Tamayo warned that the brain drain could mean the lack of personnel with sufficient skills to prevent a repeat of the airspace shutdown. The Governance

Commission for GOCCs or Government-Owned and Controlled Corporations has said it is studying the CAAP’s request for higher salaries for air traffic con-trollers.

For many years now, brain drain has been a problem not only in aviation but also in public health care, education and many industries. The Philippines has lost even

weather forecasters to other countries. At this point, the country cannot hope to match salaries and benefits offered in places such as Dubai. The long-term solution

is to raise the level of economic development so that Filipinos need not go abroad for meaningful employment.