Extend rental holidays, deferment of rental payments

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Tugade instructs airport authorities to extend rental holidays, deferment of rental payments for airport concessionaire

Due to the implemented extension of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) throughout Luzon, Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Arthur Tugade has directed airport authorities to extend, until end of April, the implementation of rental holidays, and the deferment of the collection of rental fees for airport concessionaires until the end of May 2020.

This directive was made during a teleconference meeting between the transportation chief and aviation and airports sector officials of the DOTr on 15 April 2020.

“Nag-issue ako ng instruksyon na dahil nag-extend ng [enhanced community] quarantine, ie-extend po namin ang rental holiday hanggang end of April. Kasama rin dito ang rental [charges] deferment," Sec. Tugade announced in a radio interview, Wednesday.

The directive, which was immediately executory, aims to cushion the economic impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on the country's aviation industry, and its stakeholders.

"As our aviation and airports sector has been hardly-hit by this COVID-19 pandemic, following the decreasing number of passengers, and flights -- this extension of rental holidays, and deferment of rental charges would ease the burden of paying fees for our airport concessionaires," Secretary Tugade said.

The order covers all concessionaires that are renting/leasing spaces in the terminals of airports under the jurisdiction of Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA), Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA), and Clark International Airport Corporation (CIAC).

With the extension, airport concessionaires’ lease/rental payment for the entire month of May will be deferred and they shall begin paying their duties by June 2020.