More power or more partners?

Does DPWH Secretary Rogelio Singson need more power or more partners?

Given all the damage to infrastructure and urgently needed construction to reduce flooding, congestion and traffic, one would imagine that Secretary Singson would welcome any and all help extended whether from government or the private sector. But for reasons we can only speculate on, Secretary Singson has spent a lot of time and effort personally trying to wrest power and authority from the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB).

Based on what I’ve gathered, Secretary Singson has been quite busy trying to convince the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel that the Toll Regulatory Body should not be allowed to process or oversee the approval and implementation of the “Connector Road Project” for the North and South Luzon Expressway, and that the authority should be turned over to the DPWH.

To his dismay, both the DOJ and the OGCC rejected Singson’s arguments and affirmed that the TRB has the legal right to supervise all the extensions, stretches and linkages of the NLEX and SLEX.

Unhappy with the outcome, Singson reportedly went to Malacanang and appealed to the Office of the President, suggesting that the President has the power to transfer any function under the Office of the President to any other unit the President so chooses. This has left a bad taste in the mouth for some people who were present when P-Noy publicly endorsed the project and even posed with senior executives of the two competing business giants. Why is Secretary Singson seemingly contradicting the endorsement of President Noynoy?

After all his representations, word has finally leaked out that Singson wants to knock out the Citra-San Miguel from the Road Connector project in the belief that Citra’s franchise or contract with government is no longer valid. He also believes that having two proponents might jeopardize the commercial viability of the Connector Road Project. Unfortunately for Singson, the DOJ recognized the PNCC-Citra contracts as valid, and told the TRB to go ahead with the project.

If Singson had his way, the entire project would presumably fall in the hands of Metro Pacific. Unfortunately The Metro Pacific project has been judged to be an unsolicited proposal that needs to be subjected to a Swiss Challenge. In a Swiss Challenge scenario, the entire process of biddings and proposals would have to start all over and the two competitors would have to slug it out once again and more likely with one or two more companies joining the mess.

I guess this is exactly what the TRB was referring to when it advised the DOJ that Singson’s petition was “intended to delay the proceedings and impede the implementation of much needed infrastructure projects that would benefit the Filipino people.”

But what will really kick up a stink is the issue that Singson reportedly used to be employed or was part of the Metro Pacific hierarchy, thereby exposing him to possible cases with the Office of the Ombudsman for conflict of interest or abuse of authority ,if he pushes through with his perceived plans. Being human, I cannot fault the good Secretary for exhibiting a misplaced sense of loyalty or support for his former teammates. However as a high ranking government official, Secretary Singson must be careful about being seen as biased or in any way favoring one group over the other.

Perhaps it would be wise for Secretary Singson to remember what P-Noy once advised a “former” cabinet member: Consider the bigger picture. The present proposal gives two competing companies the chance to build a very necessary “By-pass” from the NLEX to SLEX and vice versa. Direct competition will require the companies to do their best in terms of pricing, service and promotions while consumers will enjoy better roadways that the government cannot provide on its own. Indirectly, the project will surely reduce traffic in Metro Manila, especially on EDSA and C-5.

On the negative side the projects will surely come with problems and PR nightmares during its construction phase. The last thing Singson would want, unless he’s a masochist, is to be blamed for all the problems during the two or three years it will take to finish it. In that period, Secretary Singson would be better off spending all his energy on more urgent needs such as flood control, clearing up waterways, and leaving a legacy for the DPWH as having been the best in his time and leave the potential headache with the TRB.

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Civil Aviation Director General Hotchkiss has reportedly said that the CAAP has no timeline or target date for the Philippines to be restored to Category 1 under the International Civil Aviation Organization or ICAO. I don’t know if the former Air Force General is merely being cautious, considering his predecessor got booted out for failing to keep his promise to P-Noy. But DG Hotchkiss needs to be even more prudent about his remarks because that latest piece has caused a serious lack of confidence among aviation executives.

As the industry begins to gear up and invest more and more for their foreign regional flights, investors need to know how long before they will be needing bigger aircraft for the US and Europe. An “I don’t know or I won’t say” declaration is not investment friendly and does not help investors in making financial decisions.

What the “No timeline” statement does is send a message that the industry’s biggest concern is not the priority of the P-Noy administration of the CAAP.

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