Economic managers green-light higher project cost of Metro Manila Subway

The rollout of the country’s first underground railway system moved one step closer after economic managers on Friday approved the increase in cost of the Metro Manila Subway project.

In a text message, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary and National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) chief Ernesto M. Pernia said the project cost of the first phase of the subway was raised by P1.375 billion, from the previous P355.588 billion to P356.964 billion.

The adjustment in project cost was approved during the NEDA Investment Coordination Committee-Cabinet Committee (ICC CabCom) meeting.

In a separate text message, Neda Undersecretary Rolando G. Tungpalan said the 0.36-percent increase in project cost “included relocation of utilities not considered earlier.”

Tungpalan said the higher project cost reflected an appraisal by the Japan International Cooperation Agency.

Last week, Tungpalan said the Department of Transportation next year will start the implementation of the Metro Manila Subway Project (Phase 1), a 25.3-kilometer underground rail that will connect Quezon City and Taguig City as well as extend to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

The subway, to be financed by the Japanese government, would be completed by 2027, according to Tungpalan.

The Department of Finance earlier said that the Philippine government is set to sign with Japan the loan agreement covering the first tranche of financing for the subway project within the month of January.

The initial tranche will amount 104.5 billion yen or about $929.1 million, to be signed during the last week of the month after the government secures Monetary Board approval as well as the Special Presidential Authority, according to the DOF.

Also discussed during the Neda ICC CabCom meeting were the Subic-Clark Railway Project to be implemented by the DOTr and the state-run Bases Conversion and Development Authority; the Clark International Airport Operations and Maintenance Project of the DOTr; as well as San Miguel Corp.’s unsolicited proposal for the New Manila International Airport.

Tungpalan said these three projects were “for further discussion.”

Economic managers also tackled the National Irrigation Administration’s request to extend the implementation and duration of the National Irrigation Sector Rehabilitation and Improvement Project by one year and six months. /jpv

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Duterte under fire as Philippines moves to close news…

Duterte under fire as Philippines moves to close news website

Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte‘s government rejected calls Tuesday to halt the potential closure a news website that has been reporting on his deadly drug war, with media watchdogs raising fears over eroding freedoms.

The country‘s corporate regulator revoked the incorporation papers for Rappler on Monday accusing the online portal of ceding control to foreign investors in an industry exclusively reserved for Filipinos.

Rappler, founded in 2012, has produced reports critical of Duterte‘s government, including its centrepiece drug war that has claimed thousands of lives and which has drawn criticism of alleged extrajudicial killings.

Duterte vowed last year to expose Rappler‘s “American ownership”, while suggesting the US Central Intelligence Agency funded the outfit.

The government doubled down on the ruling Tuesday, with the justice department saying it was studying whether Rappler should now be prosecuted.

“If a law has been violated, then we will file the necessary charges,” Justice Undersecretary Erickson Balmes told AFP.

Duterte spokesman Harry Roque said the president “found it unfair” for Rappler to accuse him of threatening press freedom, adding he had “nothing to do” with the verdict.

“If the president wanted to do that he could just have sent the armed forces to their offices and padlocked them, which has been done by other regimes. The president has never done that,” Roque said.

The case concerns Rappler Holdings‘ decision to issue Philippine depositary receipts for shares of Rappler Inc. that the government said were sold to foreign companies.

In Monday‘s ruling, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said Rappler had given a foreign fund veto powers in exchange for a 2015 investment in an industry that the Philippine constitution limits to Filipino entities.

Rappler maintains the securities did not constitute equity nor given the investors veto on editorial matters and has vowed to appeal the ruling.

Rights groups and media watchdogs have condemned the move as the latest salvo in a series of attacks on critical media.

“The order to close Rappler amounts to a direct assault on freedom of the press in the Philippines,” Steven Butler, Asia programme coordinator for US-based monitor Committee to Protect Journalists said.

Duterte has also publicly attacked other media outlets including the Philippine Daily Inquirer and leading television broadcaster ABS-CBN, whose application for a franchise renewal he threatened to block.

The corporate regulator said the verdict would take effect in two weeks, while Rappler announced it would continue operating while appealing the ruling in court.

“I will do everything in my power not to let Rappler go down,” Rappler chief executive Maria Ressa told CNN Philippines on Tuesday.

Press organisations in Hong Kong, Thailand and the Philippines all released statements urging the government to reverse the ruling.

“The order for Rappler to be shut down is part of a broader trend by Duterte to silence his critics,” Hong Kong‘s Foreign Correspondents Club said in a statement.

More trains eyed for MRT-3

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) is looking to increase the number of trains on the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) after the delivery next month of the first batch of spare parts to get defective trains running again.

“With the help of these (spare parts), we would be able to increase the number of trains running every day and reduce service interruptions,” the DOTr said yesterday.

The DOTr said it started to procure the necessary spare parts for the MRT-3 when it formed the maintenance transition team (MTT) last November.

The MTT took over the responsibility of handling the maintenance of the MRT-3 after the government terminated its contract with Busan Universal Rail Inc. for failure to comply with obligations and to procure spare parts.

The DOTr said BURI, the former maintenance provider of MRT-3, was only able to overhaul three train cars instead of 43 from 2016 to 2017.

The target under the MTT is to have 15 trains during peak hours and 12 trains at off-peak hours.

There were instances earlier this week, however, when the MRT-3 had only seven to eight trains running.

The DOTr has sought the public’s understanding as it undertakes measures to address the problems of the MRT-3.

MRT-3, which spans North Avenue station in Quezon City until Taft Avenue station in Pasay City, has been going through a series of breakdowns and service interruptions due to supposed substandard maintenance in the past years.

Part of the steps being taken by the government to address the problems of the MRT-3 is to enter into a government-to-government agreement with Japan for the much-needed rehabilitation, and maintenance provider for the train system.

The governments of the Philippines and Japan have earlier exchanged notes and the next step is for the Japan International Cooperation Agency to conduct a feasibility study for the scope of work to be done.

The DOTr said earlier the signing of the loan agreement and procurement of the new provider would take place in March to April, while mobilization of the new firm is expected to take place within the second quarter of this year.