GMA appointees dominate MRTC board

MANILA, Philippines - Executives of the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) and the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) appointed by former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo fill majority of the board seats in the Metro Rail Transit Corp. (MRTC), the consortium operating the EDSA-bound rail line, sources said yesterday.

 With the reported equity investment of $800 million dollars in the MRTC, the DBP and LBP executives occupy eight of 10 seats in the MRTC board of directors, with DBP chair Patricia Santo Tomas being voted as board chairman of the MRTC last April.

Aside from Santo Tomas, Arroyo appointees in DBP such as former Negros Oriental congressman Miguel Romero; Franklin Velarde, a son of El Shaddai leader Bro. Mike Velarde; and columnist Alexander Magno have assumed board seats in the MRTC. Another DBP executive named to the MRTC board was Therese Quirino.

LBP assistant treasurer Alexander Macapagal and executive vice president Cecilia Borromeo are also on the board, as well as Finance Undersecretary Rosalia de Leon.

The Fil-Estate Management group, which previously controlled the MRTC, was left with only two board seats. They are occupied by its chairman, Robert John Sobrepena, and Fil-Estate’s partner, Anglo-Philippine Holdings Corp. (APHC), represented by its chairman, Alfredo Ramos.

Sources at the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) said the dominance of government nominees in the MRTC could be instrumental in the department’s bid to take control of the management of the rail line.

Sources said it was puzzling why the DOTC, during the time of Arroyo and then secretary Leandro Mendoza, had not used this “voice” in the MRTC board to take over the management of the MRTC and enable them to check the huge operational costs of the rail line.

The DOTC, under the Aquino administration, announced it will take control of the development rights over the MRT in a bid to raise “non-rail” revenues – such as renting spaces for stalls and kiosks and selling advertising space – to help support the rail line’s operations without increasing fares.

Earlier, DOTC Undersecretary for Public Information Dante Velasco said they were looking into non-rail revenues that could be raised to reduce the huge subsidy government was extending to the MRT.

Velasco said taking over the development rights could allow them to forego a plan to raise fares.

According to outdoor marketing company Trackworks, selling advertising space on the MRT can indeed generate significant revenue to help offset government expenses on the rail system. The company is basing its findings on its own experience of selling ads on the MRT, as well as on studies conducted by Nielsen Media Research. 

Velasco said while the development rights over the MRT is currently held by an affiliate of the build-lease-transfer (BLT) contractor MRT Corp. – MRT Development Corp. (MRT Devco) – they are looking into taking control of this in view of the government’s 76 percent “economic interest” over the MRT via the DBP and LBP.

President Aquino, in his State of the Nation Address last July 26, had identified the MRT transaction as one of several questionable deals during the Arroyo administration.

Aquino said the people’s money was used in the transaction “in exchange for an operation that was losing money.” ­­