A coalition of taxpayers, OFW groups, and workers of the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) and Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) has taken their fight to the Supreme Court.

On Tuesday, they filed a petition to strike down MIAA’s Revised Administrative Order (AO) 1, Series of 2024, along with the 18 March 2024 NAIA Public-Private Partnership (PPP) deal with San Miguel Corporation’s New NAIA Infra Corp. (NNIC).

Their main gripe? The government pushed through sweeping airport fee hikes without proper public consultation — and in the process violated the law.

“This was done without genuine public consultation,” lawyer Kit Belmonte said. “Not one OFW, not one airport worker, not one ordinary passenger was meaningfully heard before these rate increases were approved. It’s not just bad policy — it’s a violation of the law and the Constitution.”

The petition claimed AO No. 1 was issued without the public hearings required by law and that MIAA had no legal authority to impose the new rates in the first place. It also challenged what they called an “unconstitutional delegation” of power to NNIC, giving the private operator the ability to charge “non-regulated fees” without government oversight.

What’s more, the petition warned about a “Deficit Payment Clause” in the contract — a provision that allows NNIC to claim government subsidies if its proposed rate hikes are rejected.

Belmonte said the new charges —from parking fees to passenger service charges — will make travel significantly more expensive for millions of Filipinos, especially OFWs and airport workers.

“These hikes will come straight out of the pockets of our OFWs, travelers, and even the very workers who keep NAIA running,” he said. “And they’re not even tied to guaranteed service improvements. This is privatization without accountability.”

The group also raised competition concerns, noting that NNIC will control both NAIA and the upcoming Bulacan Airport — a setup that they fear will concentrate too much power in one private consortium and stifle competition.