Keep PAL Flying

Philippine Journal

Saturday, September 19, 1998

Editorial

WHATEVER the outcome of the meeting called by President Joseph Estrada in Malacañang between the management of Philippine Airlines and representatives of its three labor unions, what is clear at this point is that the nation's flag-carrier must keep flying. To allow PAL to close down is to lose an important player in the nation's socio-economic progress in the post-war era.

PAL management has served notice that at midnight of September 23, the airline will "close following the breakdown of negotiations between management and the labor unions to forge an acceptable arrangement to ensure continuing industrial peace."

The official announcement says that the airline can no longer cope with hard times, especially with the regional financial crunch that has exacerbated financial losses running into billions of pesos in the past year alone.

"Management has considered all efforts to keep the company operational pending the outcome of its negotiations with the labor unions. Unfortunately, the insurmountable burden of continued losses has be-come too heavy for the company to bear. With no fresh capital infusion, PAL cannot operate viably in the face of enormous losses amid the harsh business environment."

But the statement also concedes that the airline's failure to keep its head above water has not been solely due to the economic crisis. Equally to blame for the company's untimely decision to stop operations has been the failure to maintain industrial peace and harmony, which, it said, "is a key requirement for any rehabilitation plan to succeed. PAL cannot move forward without all its stakeholders pulling together."

"Closure is inevitable because this is the only way to preserve the company's assets to ensure orderly liquidation and disposition to creditors and other claimants," adds the statement. But if we had our way — and we believe we share the sentiments of many Filipinos in this regard — government should now intervene to convince conflicting parties in the dispute to settle their differences. All means should be exhausted to avoid closure. While the interests of management and the three labor unions may clash on key issues at this point, we do not think they are fundamentally irreconcilable.

"It is not easy to preside over the demise of a great Filipino institution that has been a partner in nation-building for over half a century," the PAL management announcement says. We agree completely. That is why we think it is important for the national government — with the direct intervention of the Chief Executive — to find a workable solution to the PAL dispute. We simply cannot afford to lose one of our most vital links to the world on the basis of a labor-management conflict.