‘Mayday’ streamers cause stir

A Mayday streamer hangs on the side of the control tower at the Mactan Cebu International Airport, which is part of the protest action by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines union. (CDN PHOTO/FERDINAND EDRALIN)

Calls from pilots about two black streamers bearing the words “Mayday” hanging at the control tower of the Mactan Cebu International Airport caused Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) policemen and Air Force personnel of the Mactan Air Base to rush to the area yesterday morning.

Senior Supt. Raul Bargamento, Aviation Security Unit 7 (AVSEU 7) chief, said that Mactan Air Base heard from alarmed pilots through radio messages about the streamers bearing the distress call hanged at the control tower at past 10 a.m.

Mayday is an international distress signal used by plane, sea vessel and radio operators.

The pilots’ messages prompted the Mactan Air Base to send Air Force personnel to the control tower and alerted police, who also sent a SWAT team to the area at 10:30 a.m.

There was, however, no one needing immediate assistance inside the control tower.

Lawyer Rafael Tatlonghari, Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) acting area 7 center manager, told Bargamento that they were joining a nationwide protest spearheaded by their Manila Office.

Tatlonghari said, although, they hanged streamers in all control towers nationwide, but CAAP operations were normal with no stoppage of work.

He said it was just a kind of plea to President Benigno Aquino III to improve their salary structure and bonuses after the Commission on Audit (COA) hit them with disallowances.

Bargamento asked Tatlonghari to take down the streamers as it had alarmed the pilots and passengers who saw the “distress call” at the control tower.

Tatlonghari said that they had to call their Manila office first.

Later the banner facing the airport’s runway was removed, but the one facing the terminal was not taken down.

The putting up of the streamers at the control tower were part of the CAAP labor union’s protest action where they hanged black “Mayday, Mayday” streamers on at least 23 airport control towers nationwide. The protest was to call President Aquino’s attention to address their salary woes.

The CAAP Employees Union (CAAPEU) was pr-otesting the issuance of Notice of Suspension of Salaries and Disallowance of Bonuses to technical personnel scrapping the CAAP Board issued Resolution 2012 – 053, which increased the salaries of technical employees.

“As a result, a regular technical employee is bound to return an amount ranging from P800,000.00 to P1,000,000.00 and increasing as the issue remains unresolved,” CAAPEU said in a statement sent to INQUIRER.net.