DOTC: Private sector also to blame

In my two-hour conversation with DOTC Secretary Jun Abaya a week ago, he suggested that the private sector is also to blame for the delays in their projects. Bidders, he said, always keep on asking them for postponement and they normally grant such requests to assure as wide an interest as possible.

Sec. Abaya said that they can understand why potential bidders want more time to study the projects. DOTC projects after all are quite complex and if it took their bureaucrats many years and many feasibility studies before getting to the bidding stage, granting more time for bidders seems reasonable.

Then there are the bad losers. Abaya cited the case of the Bicol International Airport in Daraga, Albay as a good example. The DOTC chief said they cannot award to the lowest bidder because the second lowest bidder filed a TRO and later converted to a “mandamus”. That brought the much needed airport project into limbo. I thought infrastructure projects cannot be delayed by such legal maneuvers.

There is also the case of MRT 3, a failed BOT project with a contract so convoluted that DOTC’s army of lawyers can’t untangle it enough to allow government to procure much needed new rail cars and get system rehab going. Sec. Abaya said he is hoping MRTC and MPIC officials will be true to their words that they will put no hindrances to government completely taking over MRT 3.

Private sector rivalries have also seriously delayed projects like that one involving a central station where LRT 1 riders can easily transfer to MRT 3 coaches. Located in between SM North Edsa and the Ayala’s Trinoma, the stiff rivalry between the two property giants over such things as naming rights have put the completion at a standstill the past three years. In the meantime, the riding public suffers.

One thing Abaya made clear to me is that the central station will be located in this area between SM North Edsa and Trinoma and not somewhere in Caloocan as previously reported. DOTC consultants are still supposed to tell DOTC the site within the area this month. P-Noy supposedly gave them the deadline of a December 2015 completion date but nothing’s moving yet so I don’t really know…

I got the impression that Sec Jun is overwhelmed by the enormity of his tasks and helpless in the face of the inertia of the bureaucracy. For example, I asked him why LTFRB is unable to enforce its franchise rules and cut the number of buses on EDSA by at least half when it is so obvious there are more than needed.

Sec. Jun replied that no one can give him an accurate count of the number of buses on EDSA. I found that answer strange. He needs to assert his authority and not allow his subordinates to run circles around him.

Sec. Jun said he is not afraid to run after the colorum bus operators even if they are retired police generals or their mistresses. But it is obvious who has control of LTFRB now and it isn’t him.

It is the same thing with LTO. I asked about the delayed issuance of car plates and registration stickers. Sec. Jun explained the situation wherein only two bidders alternate in providing the service. I didn’t get the reassurance there will be relief soon.

Sec. Jun thinks he can deliver a completed LRT2 extension to Antipolo before P-Noy bows out of office. He is less certain about LRT1 extension to Bacoor. MRT 7 is back with NEDA because previous approval lapsed while San Miguel was negotiating terms with DOF. Even if NEDA fast tracks approval, it is doubtful it can be completed before June 2016.

I asked about the Bus Rapid Transit concept. Sec. Jun said the Cebu proposal is the most advanced but even here P-Noy wants a proof of concept. So they will try it out in a section of Commonwealth Avenue before giving Cebu the go signal. The BRT proposal of Ayala is even more problematic because it will affect bus franchisees operating along Ayala Avenue.

I suggested that DOTC also consider requiring EDSA bus operators to convert their units to double deckers like the ones in London. That will save road space and also make it more difficult for those undisciplined drivers to recklessly maneuver their buses in a way that slows down all traffic.

On EDSA traffic, Sec. Jun said he is confident he can deliver the Integrated Bus Terminal System (FTI, Trinoma and Coastal mall) so that provincial buses will no longer add to the volume of traffic in Metro Manila. This should happen, he said, before P-Noy’s term expires.

The other issue I asked was about shipping and the need to bring down the cost of domestic shipping. Mindanao cannot become the nation’s rice granary if it would be cheaper to ship rice and corn from Davao to Los Angeles than to Manila.

But Sec. Jun said that even as they acknowledge that problem, they can not even start thinking of what to do about it. He said they are more focused on the threat of an international organization blacklisting our sailors because of inadequate training from our so called maritime schools.

Here, Sec. Jun again brought up the point that the private sector owners of these substandard schools have used the courts to stop them and CHED from enforcing quality standards in the education of our prospective sailors. Sec. Jun is worried enough that if we ignore the international warnings, our sailors will no longer be eligible for hiring and we can lose a major job creator.  

I think Sec. Jun is overwhelmed by the demands of his DOTC assignment plus his other duties as a top official of the Liberal Party. He also seems pretty much a captive of the DOTC bureaucracy. He didn’t bring in anyone with him so he is dependent on the lawyers Mar Roxas left behind and the veteran bureaucrats who are happy to just do studies.

Sec. Jun needs to assert himself more forcefully and not allow his staff to throw obstacles towards a faster implementation of DOTC projects. Sec. Jun must use his political savvy to navigate the bureaucratic process to deliver projects to faster completion dates.

P-Noy needs to leave behind completed infrastructure projects. Unless people feel they got something more than a slogan about Daang Matuwid, whoever runs with P-Noy’s endorsement in 2016 will not be credible. 

NAIA

I received this e-mail from a reader, Alan A.

Good morning… I just read your column of 3/11.  Sec Abaya cited four alternatives for dealing with the congestion at NAIA.  I think three of those would require high speed train connections between the airports.  And as we know, that won’t happen in our lifetimes. 

There is a 5th alternative – add a runway to NAIA. Purchase the land using eminent domain if necessary and build another runway. 

NAIA already has the terminals.  Why build another set at a different airport? Yes, it may be expensive to purchase the land, but so will the train connections and additional airport(s).

 I’ve also read your earlier columns about (horrible) government “front line” services, the cell phone & internet providers, and the government agency that’s supposed to be regulating them, but is in their pockets. I couldn’t agree more!  GO GET THEM! 

They remind me of a US football cheer, “Hit ‘em again, hit again, HARDER HARDER! Push ‘em back, WAY back!” As I volunteered before, if I can help, please let me know how.

Philcomcen

I just found out that a Pasig court has ordered the GSIS to demolish that condemned building along Ortigas Avenue that used to be called Philcomcen. That building used to house the PCGG and it certainly looks like a menace to public safety now.

The problem of GSIS is how to safely demolish it. It is in a busy area and there are buildings all around it with the Robinson’s Galleria just across the street (ADB Avenue). They probably have to get one of those building demolition experts that do controlled demolition using explosives.

Another property in Ortigas Center GSIS wants to unload while the going is hot is a 1.8-hectare lot at the corner of Meralco Avenue and Julia Vargas that is now being used as an impounding center by the MMDA. GSIS hopes to move MMDA to a another less valuable lot in the metropolis.

GSIS cannot wait to sell those prime properties before the real estate prices get back to more normal levels. They owe it to their members.

Democracy

Here’s a thought that should guide us daily, specially come election day.

A society of sheep begets a government of wolves.

Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @boochanco