10 July 2013 -  Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert F. del Rosario held talks with Vice President of the European Commission and Commissioner of Transport Siim Kallas on Tuesday, July 09, in Brussels to discuss developments in the Philippine aviation and maritime sectors as they relate to European Union (EU) inspections.

Secretary del Rosario assured Commissioner Kallas that the Philippine Civil Aviation Authority and the concerned airlines have been working very hard on the delisting of Philippine air carriers from the EU list of banned air carriers.

The Secretary assured the European Commissioner that the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) had a strategic plan to sustain the improvement of its oversight capabilities. He informed Commissioner Kallas that existing legislation will be reviewed to strengthen the agency’s oversight function, and of the improvement in the communications, navigation, surveillance and air traffic management systems.

Secretary del Rosario also informed Commissioner Kallas of the creation of a dedicated office in CAAP which will exercise oversight on the two major airlines, while the rest will be managed by another department.  On the EU ban of Philippine air carriers, the Commissioner confirmed that a decision will be announced by Wednesday, July 10. 

Commissioner Kallas appreciated the improvements in Philippine civil aviation and informed Secretary del Rosario of an upcoming ASEAN-EU Aviation Summit to be held in Singapore in February next year.  He invited Philippine aviation officials to participate in the event as this would provide an excellent opportunity for both the Philippines and EU to discuss other matters of interest.

On the issue of Philippine compliance with the Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) Convention, Secretary del Rosario briefed the European Commissioner on the corrective actions taken so far by the concerned agencies responsible for ensuring Philippine compliance with the STCW Convention.  The Secretary assured Commissioner Kallas that President Benigno S. Aquino III is on top of this issue and that the concerned agencies are working full time to address the remaining concerns prior to the next and final European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) audit in October.

The Secretary underscored the importance of the seafaring industry to the country, pointing out that of the total 1.2 million seafarers in the world, about 25 % are Filipinos.

In appreciating the developments shared by Secretary del Rosario, the EU official stressed that the EMSA audit in October would be “extremely important” and that the Philippines should address the remaining concerns.  He underscored the fact that the assessment will be made on purely technical grounds and not on political considerations.

Commissioner Kallas emphasized that the key issue for both the aviation and maritime sectors was the effectiveness of oversight function of the concerned Philippine agencies and how they could perform reliable and high quality supervision.

While the EU would work with the Philippines to address remaining deficiencies, it was ultimately the Philippines’ own responsibility to adequately meet standards imposed by its treaty obligations.

During the meeting, Secretary del Rosario was joined by Philippine Ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and Head of the Philippine Mission to the European Union Victoria S. Bataclan and Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Assistant Secretary for European Affairs Maria Zeneida Angara Collinson. END