DOTC finally on a roll

Finally we have good news that the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) is rolling out faster its long delayed infrastructure projects. The rehabilitation of the decades old Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1 is at last going to start. The rehab work will involve structural retrofitting plus improvements on the plumbing, the electrical systems and facilities such as perennial “no water toilets” and aging baggage carousels.  Hopefully we will soon see the NAIA voted out from the dubious distinction of being one of the world’s worst airports.

Earlier this week, the Skyway 3 project was also launched which would link the South and North Expressways, stretching all the way from Buendia in Makati to Aurora Boulevard, Quezon Avenue and Balintawak in Quezon City. The project is expected to cut the two hour-plus travel time from Makati to Balintawak to just a little over 20 minutes. The winning bidder boasted he will finish it in two years – let’s just hope “action speaks louder than words.” But as usual, some people are already grumbling about the horrendous traffic that the project will cause — especially because it will supposedly take three years to accomplish. People should realize that there’s no such thing as a free lunch, and that they can’t have their cake and eat it, too.

Many of us remember the Skyway (1) project from Makati to Sucat wherein the average commute for people living in that part of town was two and a half to three hours. But the DM Consunji group that built that short stretch of the Alabang Skyway did a great job and was able to manage the traffic very well.  Let’s just hope this group that’s building the Skyway 3 project will be able to manage it as well. After all, the people in the south carried their cross for two years until the completion of the project in April 2011, so now it’s the turn of the people in the northern part of Metro Manila to go through Calvary as they wait for the completion of the various stages of the project until 2017 (DOTC hopes the project will be done before June 2016).

We’re happy to see the DOTC on a roll. Despite the inconveniences, people will ultimately find themselves feeling grateful that something had finally been done to ease their daily suffering due to the traffic gridlocks in EDSA and other major thoroughfares.

One other DOTC project that people have long been waiting for is the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) project that was finally bidded out last November. But as expected, there’s another delay in the project because the DOTC decided to withhold the notice of award due to a “loser’s bloopers,” with the winning consortium of Megawide-GMR being assailed by losing bidder Filinvest Development Corp. and its Arab partner.

This is a country where nobody loses. Everybody wants to win, and if they don’t, they allege irregularity or some other flimsy reason as an excuse to question the outcome or decision that does not favor them.  But the real losers will always be the general public every time these critical projects are delayed again and again. Civil society members should expend their energy in fighting this kind of unfairness suffered by the general public. This “horse manure” deprives Filipinos of the kind of public service they deserve.

 The continued delay in the awarding of the MCIA project is resurrecting the ghost of Fraport past, with international news outfits like Bloomberg raising questions about the reliability of the Philippines as an investment destination, citing instances when foreign investors suddenly found themselves in the lurch due to “an unpredictable legal environment” that has resulted in projects getting delayed or being unilaterally terminated because of policy U-turns and other roadblocks.

 According to Bloomberg, Fraport AG had warned GMR, a Bangalore-based conglomerate, to stay away from the Philippines because of the German firm’s disastrous experience with the NAIA 3 terminal project where the government reneged on the contract and expropriated the building.  No doubt the Fraport fiasco tarnished our credibility before the international business community, with other embarrassing examples of contracts having been overturned – giving the impression that the Philippines does not know how to stick to agreements or commitments. Nevertheless, GMR is hopeful that the DOTC will not be swayed by the sour griping of the losing bidder, saying the Megawide-GMR consortium is ready to pay the P14.4 billion bid it submitted for the P17.5 billion Mactan-Cebu airport project.

 In this highly globalized world that we live in today where cooperation and partnerships between nations have become necessary, unilaterally canceling agreements, defaulting on commitments, breaching promises and failing to deliver on expectations could have very serious consequences in more ways than one. Definitely, the economy will suffer as the cloud of uncertainty could deter other foreign investors from doing business in the Philippines. As a GMR official noted, Indian companies are closely watching the developments with the MCIA project, since its success (or failure) will determine whether they will invest in the country or not.

 When all is said and done, political will and the strong resolve to “do what is right” despite overwhelming pressure from influential entities – be they in business or politics – will determine whether this country will move forward to real progress or go backwards.

 This administration must and should use its remaining years in making sure they finish with a high note when they bow out in 2016. More than anything, what the general public would like to see are tangible and literally concrete accomplishments – not endless bickering, politicking or finger pointing. 

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