‘Prenemies’

There have been some enmity between FVR and former president, now Manila mayor Erap Estrada, especially during the latter’s presidential term when FVR called for Erap’s resignation. And at times, both ex-presidents also had a rather testy exchange of words. However, that relationship seems to have reached a new chapter – with both “elder statesmen” moving on.

At the 66th birthday celebration of Manila Overseas Press Club chairman Tony Lopez held at the Grand Ballroom of Hotel Intercon, the guest list read like a “who’s who” with people from politics, business, media and society such as Vice President Jojo Binay, SM Group’s Hans Sy and Tessie Sy-Coson, Felipe Gozon of the GMA network and SMC president and CEO Ramon Ang.

But what was most noticeable during the event – which coincided with the 13th anniversary of BizNews Asia magazine with Tony as publisher – was the presence of both FVR and Erap at the same table, with the two ex-presidents in a genial mood. If “frenemies” is used to describe friendly competitors and “honeymies” for spouses engaged in rival enterprises (like Philip and Sandy Romualdez who now have their respective newspapers), then the new word to describe the relationship between the two former presidents would have to be “prenemies.”

North-South connectivity necessary to decongest Metro Manila

Despite the agreement of all Metro Manila mall operators to an MMDA proposal to adjust their operating hours starting tomorrow, traffic will continue to be horrible and in fact, is anticipated to get even worse as the holiday season approaches. This is aggravated by the congestion in Manila ports that is also putting the job of many Filipinos at risk due to the increasing cost of doing business as shippers wait for 15 or more days for cargo to be released instead of the 2-3 day waiting time before. 

According to a group calling itself the Coalition of Clean Air Advocates, vehicle exhaust is responsible for 80 percent of air pollution in Metro Manila – seen in another horrific polluted day in the photo taken yesterday morning at 7:30 a.m. – that is causing a spike in lung-related diseases, heart ailments, even cancer. The World Health Organization has also categorized air pollution as one of the greatest environmental health risks, resulting in millions of unnecessary deaths year after year.

A transport study by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) says the current economic losses of P2.4 billion a day due to traffic congestion could increase to P6 billion per day if nothing is done to avert the worsening congestion, and this does not even include the public health costs. In its report, JICA gave several possible solutions to address the problem of congestion. But what really got our attention was the “roadmap” stressing the need to establish better connectivity between the north and the south – something that the NLEX-SLEX Connector Road Project can address.

DOTC and DPWH insiders confirmed to us that this private-public partnership (PPP) project by the Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation could help solve the problem of congestion in Metro Manila because it could reduce travel time from NLEX to SLEX to about 20 minutes – a far cry from the three hours or more that it takes now for vehicles to traverse Alabang to Quezon City via EDSA or C5 where traffic is always at a snail’s pace no matter the time or day. Congestion at the ports will also be eased because the connector road will serve as a “gateway” to the port area, paving the way for more efficient movement of cargo, RORO vessels and of course passengers going in and out of the Manila North Harbor, Manila South Harbor and the Manila International Container Terminal, the insider explained.

Connectivity would also be enhanced between key international airports and seaports that include the Subic Bay International Terminal (via the Subic Freeport Expressway-North Luzon Expressway and Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway route), the Batangas ports via SLEX, and the Clark International Airport to NAIA. For sure, this is something that would attract potential investors as it will vastly improve linkages between key growth corridors in Metro Manila, Subic, Clark and Central and North Luzon.

Unfortunately, this critical big-ticket project continues to suffer interminable delays because the President’s men keep changing the rules midstream or worse, issuing conflicting pronouncements. Case in point: DOJ Secretary Leila de Lima’s opinion that the project – originally submitted to the DPWH under the Build-Operate-Transfer scheme and now a proposed joint venture between MPTC and PNCC – has to go through a “Swiss challenge.”

This is confusing to many especially since DPWH Secretary Babes Singson already said the original BOT scheme and the joint venture proposal are both “legally possible.” So then why is this project that the President specifically said he wants completed before his term ends in 2016 still delayed?

At the rate things are going, there is no way this NLEX-SLEX Connector Road project would be completed by 2016 because of the disconnect between what the president is saying and what certain Cabinet Secretaries are doing. Meantime, people continue to suffer through the traffic and the pollution – not to mention the lost economic opportunities that have the potential to improve the quality of life especially for Metro Manila residents. 

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