Senate urged to ratify int’l airline safety protocol
Sen. Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri on Thursday expressed frustration over the country’s failure to ratify a 12-year-old international agreement aimed at strengthening measures against unruly and disruptive airline passengers.
During a hearing of the Senate committee on foreign relations which he chairs, Zubiri questioned why the Philippines has yet to adopt the 2014 Montreal Protocol despite its wide acceptance by other countries.
“We have a lot of treaties that have been on the backburner for a long, long time,” Zubiri said. “It’s actually a very simple measure, very straightforward. I don’t know why we have not been able to act on this measure.”
The Protocol to Amend the Convention on Offences and Certain Other Acts Committed on Board Aircraft seeks to update international rules governing crimes and disruptive behavior on planes, particularly as incidents involving unruly passengers have increased worldwide.
Long overdue
Foreign Secretary Maria Theresa Lazaro underscored the country’s lagging status, noting that 145 countries have already become parties to the agreement.
Transportation security officials said the protocol also gives pilots more tools to maintain order in the air and nonratification could create practical problems for the Philippines on the ground.
Alessandra Johanna Arenas, chief of the Office for Transportation Security’s Civil Aviation Security Division, said the country could face limitations in assisting foreign aircraft carrying disruptive passengers if it remains outside the agreement.
Zubiri, meanwhile, vowed to push for immediate Senate action on the measure when he defends it before the plenary.
