LIPAD obligated to collect aviation security fees at Clark airport, says DOJ

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LIPAD obligated to collect aviation security fees at Clark airport, says DOJ
  • Luzon International Premier Airport Development is obligated to collect aviation security fees at the Clark International Airport
  • In a legal opinion dated September 25, the Department of Justice affirmed Clark International Airport Corporation and airport operator LIPAD must collect and remit the amount of P60 and P15, respectively, for every departing international and domestic passenger
  • The collected fees must be remitted to the Bureau of the Treasury, according to the legal opinion

Luzon International Premier Airport Development (LIPAD), operator of Clark International Airport (CRK), must collect aviation security fees (ASF) at CRK, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said in a legal opinion dated September 25.

The opinion published online clarified that both LIPAD, operator of CRK, and the Clark International Airport Corporation (CIAC) must collect and remit the amount of P60 and P15, respectively, for every departing international and domestic passenger.

The legal stance is grounded in two letters of instruction (LOI Nos. 414 and 414-A) issued in 1976, according to the DOJ. These letters established that all airports, whether under the supervision of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines or not, are obligated to collect ASF and remit it to the Bureau of Treasury.

CRK is not under the jurisdiction of CAAP.

The collection of the ASF is meant to subsidize the National Action Committee on Anti-Hijacking (NACAH), which was established under LOI No. 399 on the same year.

The DOJ opinion was in response to a query from former Department of Transportation Undersecretary Raul Del Rosario, who asked whether LIPAD should collect ASF. The Office of Transportation Security, formerly known as NACAH, received the response.

The collected ASF can be allocated for various purposes, including the provision of infrastructure, equipment, supplies and personnel for the Aviation Security Command, as outlined in the aforementioned LOIs cited by the DOJ.

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