Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) Senior Assistant General Manager Bryan Co has been named as the agency’s officer-in-charge following the preventive suspension of General Manager Cesar Chiong based on an anonymous complaint filed against him before the Office of the Ombudsman.
“Sa ngayon, ang ipapalit namin ay yung next in line muna, ang Senior Assistant General Manager ay si Mr. Bryan Co,” Secretary Jaime Bautista of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) told an interview.
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 said.
The anonymous complaint which became the basis for Chiong’s suspension stemmed from his move to reassign “certain MIAA employees”, which he asserted was part of efforts to improve airport operations.
The suspension order “was based on an anonymous complaint alleging grave abuse of authority,” he said in a statement.
Bautista said reassigning employees was within Chiong’s prerogative as MIAA chief.
“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,” he said.
The official also noted that Chiong’s 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 explained.
