A PAL spokesman on Thursday said the airline was negotiating with the nation’s Civil Aviation Authority with the objective of “expediting the resolution of this issue”.

“We can confirm that communication remains constant,” a PAL spokesman said, without giving added details.

A person privy to developments said discussions involved PAL offering better terms, after the DOTr earlier turned down its request to pay the amount over seven years.

There was no development on their negotiations as of this writing.

The talks came after the Department of Transportation threatened legal action against PAL if it did not settle what was allegedly owed within 10 days. Demand letters were served to PAL on Thursday morning. The amount, which accumulated over a period of several years, also included unpaid take-off and landing fees, according to the DOTr.

PAL, controlled by the Lucio Tan group, owed the CAAP more than 6.9 billion pesos as of July 30 and the Manila International Airport Authority nearly 370.6 million as of September 26, the DOTr said in its statement, issued by public information chief Goddess Hope Oliveros-Libiran. This amounted to some 7.3 billion pesos combined.

PAL also incurred fees worth nearly 370.6 million pesos from January to July 2017 and these were paid recently, Oliveros-Libiran said.

The DOTr noted in a statement that the letters were sent “preparatory to the filing of appropriate legal action in order to protect the interest of government”. The DOTr did not indicate when PAL’s arrears started.

The issue came to light during a speech this week given by President Duterte at the Philippine Constitution Association. During his speech, Duterte also threatened to close down the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 2, which PAL uses exclusively, if the airline did not settle its unpaid dues.

“I said, ‘Thank you, but—,’” Duterte said. “I said, you are using government buildings, airport, you have … debts on the runway that you are not paying.”