4 August 2010 298 views No Comment Email This Post

MANILA, Aug. 3 (PNA) – Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Leila De Lima on Tuesday said that the government may take over the management of Philippine Airlines (PAL) only as a last resort.

In a press conference, De Lima said that the option that the government takes over the management of PAL will only be resorted to just to make sure that the operations of PAL will not stop.

De Lima said that a dialogue will be held at 3 p.m. Tuesday afternoon between the PAL management and its resigned pilots and personnel aimed at settling their differences.

The PAL pilots, who are members of the Airline Pilots Association of the Philippines (ALPAP), and flight officers have resigned from PAL allegedly due to low pay, lack of security of tenure and inconducive working conditions.

De Lima said that she has prepared her recommendations about the alternative means by which the government can do if the dialogue between the PAL management and its pilots would not end into a good result.

De Lima said that they are not considering the option of exploring the possibility of having the Cebu Pacific absorb the affected PAL passengers.

However, De Lima is not sure whether Cebu Pacific can absorb all the affected passengers of PAL.

Likewise, De Lima said that one of the reasons why PAL pilots have resigned is due to low salary compared to other airlines.

De Lima believes that the dialogue between both parties – management and employees of PAL, the ALPAP, together with Transportation and Communications Secretary Jose “Ping” de Jesus will result to an amicable settlement. ?

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