Following the preventive suspension of General Manager Cesar Chiong based on an anonymous complaint filed against him before the Office of the Ombudsman, his senior assistant general manager Bryan Co has been named as officer-in-charge of the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA).
In an interview, Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Jaime Bautista : “Sa ngayon, ang ipapalit namin ay yung next in line muna, ang Senior Assistant General Manager ay si Mr. Bryan Co.”
Co, for his part, said that while Chiong is away, he will be there to continue the programs that the DOTr and MIAA have started.
“We need to make sure that we continue our path towards improving NAIA and our service to our passengers and airport stakeholders,” Co stressed.
An order dated April 28 was received by the MIAA putting Chiong under preventive suspension for a period of six months along with finance officer Irine Montalbo.
The order was based on an anonymous complaint, alleging grave abuse of authority due to the reassignment of certain MIAA employees, which, according to Chiong, was aimed to improve airport operations.
Sec. Bautista said reassigning employees was well within Chiong’s prerogative as MIAA chief, adding “Tama, para naman maging mas efficient yung operations ng airport, kaya nga nagulat nga kami na nagkaroon ng ganitong kaso, wala naman kaming alam na complaint ini-file ng kung sino man. But apparently may isang anonymous group na nag-file ng case.”
Bautista said that Chiong and his team had so far played a key role in improving operations at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).
“Yun pong kanyang team ang nag-iisip kung ano-ano ba yung mga best practice na dapat gawin natin… Ito yung ginagawa ng mga other countries. Pinag-aaralan natin yan in terms of customer service, in terms of safety and security, yun po ang importante kasi eh, in terms of making the facilities accessible,” he stressed.
