Winning is just the first step

Winning is just the first step, avoiding the obstacles and landmines will be the next.

While many Filipinos and businesses are celebrating that San Miguel Corporation won the rehabilitation and management project for the NAIA, there is now serious concern among NAIA insiders that a snake or snakes in the pit will soon be causing obstructions, delays and challenges to the forward movement of the project.

The ominous warnings started to come out once it became obvious that San Miguel Corporation had outgunned other bidders, and since losing is a bitter pill to swallow, losers tend to chase down their loss with threats. I was reminded of how the new administration and leadership at the DOTr confidently walked into a NAIA full of unseen resistance guerillas from the past, as well as traps and well-planned set-ups to block the change that was coming. As a result, the general manager ended up becoming collateral damage.

While most of us are focused on the physical rehabilitation of the NAIA complex, we overlook the fact that in order for the government to make money, the improved NAIA must become profitable and in order to do so, timelines need to be met and the entire facility must be run professionally and free of political and vested interests.

This is why word has come out that San Miguel Corporation and Ramon Ang should watch out for imbedded assets or officials who were politically appointed through the money and influence of certain “investors” or vested interests in MIAA and with powerful connections in Malacañang. The tip is to watch the people on the MIAA/NAIA board to pinpoint who is/are the rear guards assigned to slow down the rehabilitation project.

The physical rehabilitation is one thing, but the work required to make NAIA profitable for the Philippine government is another. A new management or a team of professional managers will surely disrupt the way “The Boys’ Club” has been doing business. Perhaps the biggest reason that vested interest groups are scared of Ramon Ang has to do with the fact that RSA knows all there is to know about planes since he has owned several, is an avid reader and follower of aviation developments, he has operated an