The Samahang Manggagawa sa Paliparan ng Pilipinas (SMPP), the duly recognized labor union of the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA), said it had no role in the petitions filed before the Supreme Court questioning the legality of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Project.
The union issued an official statement distancing itself from interest groups claiming to represent airport workers in opposition to the concession deal.
In its statement dated October 24, the SMPP said it was “not in any way connected or affiliated” with groups such as “PUSO ng NAIA,” which earlier urged the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) to probe alleged irregularities in the ₱170-billion PPP agreement.
The group emphasized that it did not authorize anyone to use the SMPP’s name in filing any petitions or public statements against the NAIA PPP project.
“The issues and concerns being raised by the petitioners in filing their petition before the Supreme Court is not a union concern,” the SMPP said. “We categorically deny any involvement thereto. The SMPP is not a party to the said case, and we did not officially allow or authorize anyone to use the name of SMPP in filing the said case.”
The union acknowledged that it had previous disagreements with MIAA management during the early stages of the PPP project’s planning and award, particularly over its impact on airport employees.
However, it said those issues were “peacefully resolved” through a series of consultations and cascades with affected workers prior to the project’s turnover to New NAIA Infra Corp. (NNIC), the winning concessionaire.
The MIAA, through General Manager Eric Jose C. Ines, formally endorsed the SMPP’s statement to NNIC General Manager Angelito A. Alvarez to clarify the matter.
Ines said the clarification aims to dispel misinformation linking MIAA employees or their union to any legal actions against the government’s flagship airport modernization effort.
