Question & AnswerQ&A (Republic Act No. 125)
The primary purpose of Republic Act No. 125 is to govern the use of air navigation facilities in the Philippines and provide for the payment for their use.
Only duly licensed private or commercial air service operators are allowed to use Government air navigation facilities, subject to reasonable charges and under rules and regulations issued by the Bureau of Aeronautics and approved by the Department Head.
Private air navigation facilities can only be used when the Government does not own any air navigation facility, unless permitted by the Director of the Bureau of Aeronautics, and charges are fixed by the Public Service Commission after due hearing.
Reasonable charges are those which ensure just and reasonable return on the capital invested, considering the cost of construction, operation, and maintenance, and non-aeronautical revenue of the air navigation facility, and must be uniform.
'Air navigation facility' includes airports, emergency landing fields, light or other signal structures, radio directional finding facilities, radio or other electrical communication facilities, and any other structures or facilities used as aids to air navigation.
An 'airport' is defined as any locality, on water or land, adopted for the landing and taking off of aircraft, or a place regularly used for receiving or discharging passengers or cargo by air.
The charges accrue to the general fund of the national, provincial, or municipal government that finances the facilities.
For five years from the date of approval of the Act, all charges collected must be appropriated for the construction, repair, and maintenance of air navigation facilities.
All acts or parts of acts inconsistent with this Act are repealed.
The Act took effect upon its approval on June 14, 1947.