MAYBE one missed it, but there seemed to be nil coverage of two big issues casting shadows over the top Philippine events in Week 1 of 2023: the state visit of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. or BBM to Beijing on January 3 to 5, and the New Year's Day shutdown of Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), closing our airspace to all aircraft and damaging our reputation in travel and business circles worldwide.

First, the largely unspoken issue concerning the hugely damaging NAIA fiasco when the air traffic management system (ATS) broke down, initially blamed on power outage but actually caused by faulty uninterrupted power supply or UPS units powering the system, including the reported plugging of a 220-volt equipment onto a 380-volt line.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. waves to onlookers from an escalator during his inspection of the arrival and departure operations of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 in Pasay City on Friday, Jan. 6, 2023. PHOTO BY J. GERARD SEGUIA

When Congress probes the mess, including the "sabotage or incompetence" angle raised by Sen. Joseph Victor "JV" Ejercito, lawmakers must ask which entities may gain from the shutdown's aftermath, including possible privatization raised by Secretary Jaime Bautista of the Department of Transportation (DoTr) to harness private capital and expertise for airport upgrading.

Consider this: Privatizing the NAIA for redevelopment may extend its life well beyond 2027, when San Miguel's New Manila International Airport (NMIA) is due to start up in Bulacan and take over air traffic from the decades-old gateway. Otherwise, the NAIA concession period may be too short to attract ample investment for needed upgrades.

One enterprise that may have interest in extending NAIA operations is Philippine Airlines (PAL), which Secretary Bautista headed for 13 years, and other aviation enterprises of his long-time employer, the Lucio Tan Group. PAL would not mind more years of profitable use for its Terminal 2, and it even plans major airport infrastructure, including a P20-billion Terminal 2 annex and rail links to other NAIA terminals.

Then there is billionaire Tan's MacroAsia Corp., which provides inflight catering, aircraft servicing and maintenance, and other aviation support. Closing the NAIA and shifting air traffic to Bulacan and later Cavite's Sangley Point International Airport, being built by SPIA Development Consortium, would mean relocating MacroAsia facilities and operations at huge cost and maybe losing business to rivals in the NMIA and the SPIA.

Just to be absolutely clear: citing potential gainers from the NAIA's privatization is not meant to say or suggest there was ATS sabotage — though Secretary Bautista himself does not rule it out — or that certain entities may be in any way involved in the incident. Still, in thoroughly probing the debacle and instituting preventive policies, "we are considering it (sabotage) because all possibilities should be included for consideration," the DoTr chief rightly stresses.

In his NAIA shutdown apology upon his return from Beijing, President Marcos said, "We need to make sure that we fast-track [negotiations] with the equipment suppliers... who can help us with the upgrades for the software and the hardware of our equipment." No mention of privatization.

This seems to be the right approach: speed up remedial and preventive measures to address the problem and reduce risk of repeat, which the State can fund and undertake with equipment suppliers. But don't let one incident stampede us to airport privatization, forgetting that two vast airports are rising in coming years and the NAIA land can generate mammoth revenues needed for other infrastructure and debt reduction.

The elephant in Beijing

Turning to the China state visit, the unmentioned elephant in the room during President Marcos' meetings and functions with President Xi Jinping and other top Chinese leaders has to be the United States, particularly its wish to escalate rotations of US forces in our country, using 10 bases of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), including six in Luzon and two in Palawan, well-positioned for possible hostilities with China and North Korea.

Official pronouncements and media reports on the visit made no mention of our US alliance or the 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) covering increased American military presence with bases access. That's expected: leaders and countries keep silent on potential bones of contention.

But make no mistake about it: all the positive talk and initiatives in Beijing, including 14 agreements signed and joint oil exploration planned, could be derailed if we hosted US naval, air and missile forces, including many probably nuclear-armed assets. It's hard to imagine relations flourishing while we open our land, sea and air to American warships, submarines, aircraft and projectiles capable of attacking China's forces, cities and sea lanes.

We saw Beijing's tough stance after the Aquino 3rd administration sued it in The Hague over its reclamation and bases construction within our exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Hosting nuclear-capable US forces would be far more threatening than any international lawsuit, so expect a much tougher response to EDCA implementation, especially with possible Taiwan hostilities erupting.

Thankfully, in late November, President Marcos ordered a review of the US alliance after incoming Defense Secretary Jose Faustino Jr. announced 10 AFP bases for American use under EDCA, and both the National Defense and Foreign Affairs departments mooted joint US-Philippine patrols in disputed waters.

The media campaign for EDCA intensified with recent allegations of Chinese vessels "swarming" Philippines-claimed waters, new construction in reclaimed bases and Chinese vessels taking spacecraft debris from our Navy men. Now, the ADR Institute of EDCA negotiator and former foreign secretary Albert del Rosario released a survey showing most Filipinos favored working with the US in securing our maritime claims.

Fortunately, one Marcos visit achievement is a China-Philippines communication link to validate and address maritime issues and counter media agitation based on unverified reports. Also, the President reiterated in his interview on Chinese TV that we should not bring in the US into maritime issues with China. "That would not work," he said. "The future of the Asia-Pacific region must be decided by the Asia-Pacific region".

Marcos also stressed the foundation of friendship with China begun by his father in 1974 and continuing with his policy of peacefully resolving differences in mutually beneficial ways. That is indeed the way forward for peace, progress and prosperity in our country and our region.