COTABATO CITY: The Bangsamoro Airport Authority (BAA) — an attached office to the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) — will assume the landside operation management of six airports in the region effective Sunday, Jan. 1, 2023.In an exclusive interview with BAA regional head Carmencita Salik on December 14, she said the agency was on the verge of preparation for the scheduled change in operation management as it is still with the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP).As stipulated in Section 38, Article XIII of Republic Act 11054 or the 'Bangsamoro Organic Law' (BOL), the Bangsamoro Government shall have the authority 'to grant regional franchises, licenses, and permits to land, sea and air transportation plying routes in the provinces or cities within the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region: Provided, That the National Government shall regulate the airside operations of all existing airports.'To facilitate this provision, CAAP and BAA forged a memorandum of agreement (MoA ) on Sept. 20, 2022, wherein the former completely transferred to the latter all the properties, assets, powers and functions of the landside management of operational airports in Cotabato, Sanga-Sanga, Jolo, Mapun, as well as the non-operational airports in Malabang and Wao.The landside portion as identified in the MoA includes the Passenger Terminal Building (PTB), Administrative Building, Vehicular Parking Area, and other facilities or areas that are not restricted and/or not part of Air Navigational Aids and Facilities.Present during Wednesday's meeting were different stakeholders and concessionaires of Cotabato Airport, also known as Awang Airport, in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Norte. BAA presented the new guidelines, policies as well as application requirements with the new administration.Salik stressed that as part of their strategies, all concessionaires and affected business owners inside the airport need to apply again as a new entity, which means they need to submit a new application along with a new set of requirements.According to the new guidelines, interested parties need to submit the following requirements: letter of intent, business plan and company profile, application form, business permit, location, certificate of good standing from previous concessionaires in charge, and clearance from the airport manager.