GCG closes airplane firm after 50 years of inaction

The Governance Commission for GOCCs (GCG) has shuttered a government-owned and/ or -controlled corporation (GOCC) established by former President Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. to design an airplane—but which failed to do so in its 50 years of existence.

- BY BEN ARNOLD DE VERA

In a memorandum order dated May 7, the GCG gave its go-ahead to abolish 244 plantilla positions at the Philippine Aerospace Development Corp. (PADC), which was under the Department of National Defense (DND).

Out of the total plantilla positions, however, only 21 were filled before PADC was closed down.

The abolished filled positions included those for a building electrician, two driver mechanics, a plumber, a mason, two carpenters, a painter, a corporate budget officer, three aircraft maintenance specialists, three aircraft production specialists, a division manager, a marketing specialist, an executive secretary, two senior quality assurance (QA) inspectors, and the company president. These positions' salary grades (SGs) ranged between five and 28, with the highest ranked and paid being PADC's president.

"All employees who may be involuntarily separated from the civil service by reason of the abolition of their positions are entitled to the separation incentive pay (SIP), in addition to retirement or separation benefits under existing laws, provided that the concerned employees have not availed of similar or analogous separation incentive programs from other GOCCs or national government agencies," GCG Memorandum Order No. 2025-11 read.