BDOPB FORUM: PH banks can support infrastructure projects

WITH the government allotting some P9 trillion for infrastructure development in the next six years, a key executive of one of the country’s biggest water concessionaires has expressed confidence the local banking industry has enough liquidity to finance the lined-up infrastructure undertakings.

In a forum titled “Build, Build, Build—Achieving Sustainable & Inclusive Growth” held recently by BDO Private Bank (BDOPB) for select high net worth clients, Maynilad president and chief executive officer Ramoncito S. Fernandez said as long as the government can maintain a stable economy and the sanctity of contracts are guaranteed and honored, private companies will be motivated to invest in these infrastructure projects.

At the same time, he urged local businesses to keep their investments within the confines of the domestic economy to boost the Philippine banking industry and also positively impact the infrastructure initiatives of the government.

“Continue believing in the Philippine banking industry. Don’t bring your money outside. Our banks have enough liquidity to support these projects,” he told the forum’s attendees.

BDOPB, s of end-June 2017, has assets under management worth P371.28 billion.

It has built an onshore model that serves the market’s emerging wealthy to the ultra-high net worth segment, comparable to that of its bigger global counterparts.

While private banking is still a developing market in the Philippines, BDOPB has already developed a niche segment to meet key objectives such as growing personal investments, establishing a stable family wealth plan, and estate planning.

Aside from Fernandez, other invited panelists in the event include former Finance Sec. Margarito “Gary” Teves, International Finance Corp. Senior Investment Officer Lulu Baclagon, and Marie Christine Tang, an economist and local partner in the Philippines of New York-based think tank Global Source. Meanwhile, CNN Philippines president and Emmy Awards winner Armie Jarin-Bennett served as the Forum’s moderator.

Teves, for his part, said the government should encourage more private sector participation in projects that are commercially viable other than just relying on a hybrid Public-Private Partnerships (PPP).

Under a hybrid PPP, government will build the infrastructure projects and later bid out the operations and maintenance to the private sector.

“I would not advise the setup wherein it’s the government first that spends for the project and then the private sector comes in later on for the maintenance. The private sector should be fully involved with the project implementation at the onset,” he said.

“Another problem with big-ticket mass transport projects is they will surely entail huge user fees to recover the costs. The government needs to subsidize it if the rates have to be kept manageable.”

Baclagon, on one hand, said there should be long-term planning in the development of projects.

“We can’t stop with the subway project. We’ve always been piecemeal with our planning and project implementation. Metro Manila would need 700 kilometers in mass transport system to sufficiently address the needs of people living and working in Metro Manila,” she said.

One of the highlights of the government’s ambitious infrastructure initiative is the P227- billion Mega Manila Subway project, a 25-km underground transportation system connecting major business districts and government centers. In its first year, it is expected to serve 370,000 passengers per day.

It will be funded through Official Development Assistance.

Meanwhile, Tang said that the government should be clear on how projects would be funded, whether through taxes or user fees.

The government plans to appropriate P847.2 billion in the 2017 national budget for infrastructure projects, or approximately 5.3 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), the highest allotment of a portion of GDP for infrastructure spending in 30 years.

BDOPB is a wholly owned subsidiary of BDO Unibank serving the affluent market.

BDO is a full-service universal bank which provides a wide range of corporate and retail banking services.

These services include traditional loan and deposit products, as well as treasury, trust banking, investment banking, private banking, rural banking, cash management, leasing and finance, remittance, insurance, retail cash cards and credit card services.

BDO has one of the largest distribution networks, with more than 1,100 operating branches and over 3,700 ATMs nationwide.

It also has a full-service branch in Hong Kong as well as 26 overseas remittance and representative offices in Asia, Europe, North America and the Middle East.

BDO ranked as the largest bank in terms of total assets, loans, deposits and trust funds under management based on published statements of condition as of end-first quarter.

Hitachi seen bidding on government’s subway, railway ventures

JAPANESE conglomerate Hitachi Ltd. has set its eyes on winning the contract for at least two transportation mega deals in the Philippines, negotiating with Filipino companies for possible partnership.

Hitachi Rail System Global Chief Strategy Officer Shinya Mitsudomi said his group wants to participate in the bidding for the P277-billion Mega Manila Subway and the P255-billion Manila-Clark Railway, both of which will be funded through Tokyo’s official development assistance.

“We are very much interested in participating in the rail projects of the Philippines,” he said. “The projects we are now focusing on are the Tutuban to Clark Airport Railway; another project might be the Metro Manila Subway.”

The group has also started talking with “several” Filipino companies for a possible partnership for the two deals. He did not disclose which groups Hitachi is in talks with but noted that these are “new players” and “existing rail operators” alike.

Building the Metro subway and BRT: How hard can it be?

Boggling the millenials

Just to boggle the imagination of today's traffic-spawned millenials, I used to tell them this story. When I was a young laddie in the sixties [late] and seventies, prize meals, worth a long drive could only be found in two places in Quezon City; a four course sizzling steak dinner at Open Steak House in a cul de sac just off West Avenue and a ten course Cantonese set menu at Kowloon House restaurant on West Avenue, near the Delta junction of Quezon Boulevard, today's Quezon Avenue.

One Peso toll, 25 minutes point to point

It didn't matter that my assigned seat in the family Rambler station wagon was the rear most row rear facing seat. The prize meal was reward enough to keep immune from motion sickness. For the princely sum of Peso 1.00 toll from Meycauayan to Balintawak on the spanking new North Diversion Road, foodie heaven was a consistent 25 minutes away; from the ancestral home in Malhacan, at lunch time, rain or shine, hell or high water. In those days, there wasn't a Balintawak Cloverleaf produce market whose expanse and refuse would clog the creek and flood Highway 54, a.k.a. EDSA today.

Mega billion projects

With several billions worth of infrastructure spent over 7 administrations, 37.8B and 378.0B, respectively may look like small beer today, specially that the tenure of the PRRD administration is programmed to spend 8.4 Trillion Pesos for this “Golden Age of Infrastructure”. With the administration's turnabout emphasis on GA construction, funded by PPP to O&M 37.8B will buy us the Metro-Manila EDSA BRT and the JICA sponsored ODA, the Metro Manila Subway for 378.0B. As the signing of these and more are being rushed, the cost-benefit analysis and feasibility studies are straining to keep up.

EDSA takes it all

The EDSA BRT will run on the 48.6km Monumento to MOA length of EDSA with 3 loops – one to Ortigas Center, another to BGC and then Ayala CBD. The Metro Manila Subway on the other hand as planned by the Japanese starts burrowing at Quezon Memorial and connects to Ayala CBD, BGC and MoA with a spur to NAIA.

Cheaper and deeper than light rail

According to transport authorities, the EDSA BRT justifies itself for cost considerations as BRT's are faster to build/operate and cheaper to capitalize vs. Light Rail systems. The higher capacity Subway on the other hand is justified on the need not to disturb the already coagulated surface transport within the greater Makati jurisdiction, even as costs are multiplied by a factor of ten.

Arteries and capillaries

Presently, the crucial C-4 circumferential road of the Metro, otherwise known as EDSA, serves as the distributive artery for commute journeys to all the bursting CBD's and east-west transport corridors that grew along EDSA's main lateral junctions; Grace Park, Cubao, Ortigas, Ayala, etc. Along with C-3, C-5 and C-6, it is one among the several planned but partially completed ring roads that expanded concentrically to link 5 other “R” or Radial roads that spread outward from the core, Manila City, to form the Greater Manila urban area. Thanks to the accelerated economic growth that rolled from the early 90's, all these roads are clogged earning the reputation as one of the world's longest urban rush hours. Not surprising since road and transport infrastructure is forty years behind the demand curve.

Urban sprawl from the Metro employer magnet

As urban planners proposed, the best and fastest way to alleviate massive congestion was to urban sprawl. Industries relocated south along the SLEx, along with countless bedroom communities. But the main employment generator was still what is now known today as Metro Manila. Road building and transport just couldn't catch up with the increasing demand. All forms of traffic reduction measures and enhanced traffic rules enforcement are being tried continuously, but traffic congestion remains.

Transfer all ports, air and sea

Nevertheless, there are low hanging fruit that just need a regulatory push. Easing access and distributing container traffic to the ports of Batangas to the south and Subic to the northwest would greatly ease the already expanded capacity of Manila's North Harbor. Transferring more landing slots from NAIA to Clark would also greatly alleviate air traffic. On paper, the road network to these entrepôts already exist from the STAR expressway to the south and the SCTEx to the north, but the main bottleneck is still transiting through Metro Manila.

Complete the cross metro highways

The medium term solution lies in two cross Metro tollways; MMSS3 [Metro Manila Skyway Stage 3] and the NLEx connector or MLEx [Metro Link Expressway]. The third leg of this trans-metro highway is the completion of C-5 which still needs the NLEx link via Segment 8.2 from Luzon Ave. and the C-5-CAVITEx link from NAIA Skyway-Merville. MMSS3 won't be finished by 2018, MLEx by 2020 and the ends of C-5, perhaps 2020 unless emergency powers speed up the right of way acquisition. To this, we did not add all the other ODA funded projects, the Calamba to Matnog South Rail project, the Tutuban to Malolos North South commuter rail project and the Malolos to Clark NAIA-Clark rail link, all of which will still need feasibility studies, bidding and of course, a hopeful deadline.

Dispersing transport hubs

The next three years of commuting traffic looks bleak. And even if all the three above cited cross metro highways are operational, Urban Planner Felino Palafox predicts that, unless major industry and transport hub dispersal isn't done now, in three years time the two elevated tollways and C-5 will just become parking lots.

Integrated bus terminals

What to do? Besides the on-going expansion of MRT-3, LRT-2 and LRT-1 ridership capacity, the other near term panacea is to push through with BRT on EDSA. This is after controlled bus dispatch and segregated bus stops has long been implemented. Dispersal of bus terminals from Pasay and Cubao to the outer integrated bus terminals in the North, South, Southwest and East cannot be implemented as the 4 major bus terminals will take another three to four years to complete.

BRT from the BF era

The BRT as planned during the tenure of Chairman Bayani Fernando of the MMDA [2005-2009] could not be maximized as a dedicated exclusive 2-lane guideway on EDSA because EDSA already gave up 2 middle lanes for the roller coaster MRT-3 route. Adding the two exclusive yellow lanes for buses would have meant squeezing the more numerous private vehicles to just 3 lanes.

Circulatory and distributive

Now, restricting private vehicles on EDSA to favor HOVs [high occupancy vehicles] like buses is traffic planning SOP. But EDSA is the sole functioning commute distributor of the city to all the CBD's on the lateral fringes of EDSA. Hence banning private vehicles from EDSA en masse would impact business activity and also blockade north south transit traffic even as industry and transport hub dispersal is effected. Moreover, the competing/augmenting EDSA commuter carriers – MRT-3, regular buses- all squeeze on the same surface roadways. Thus, a BRT dedicated busway would further reduce EDSA vehicle capacity and restrict cross-EDSA's circulatory/distributive traffic function.

Legal counterflow

The MMDA of BF concluded then that to make BRT work, it would need to run like some successful BRT's do in other countries; i.e. the dedicated bus lane would need to travel in the opposite direction of traffic. It will also need to hug the curbside since EDSA's median, the ideal placement of a BRT, is already occupied by MRT-3.

Kicking out the yellow lane buses

What this means is that the BRT buses will be right hand drive and the access entry and exit doors will be on the curbside. These BRT buses will travel contra-flow and stay, single file, close to the curb- the existing yellow lane, making it ideal to run on an overhead electric catenary system similar to a trolley bus or rubber tired tram. To keep the bus stop and bus way exclusive to the BRT, planners were considering a higher ramp for door access at the bus stops so as to keep non-BRT buses from using the BRT contra-flow lane. Besides, regular buses wouldn't be able to dock on BRT bus stops and being left hand drive with passenger exit on the traffic side, they would have lost access to the yellow lane curb anyway.

Also kick out the terminals

For BRT to work, MMDA would have to kick out all the bus companies plying EDSA. Which would include all the provincial bus companies that “carbarn” in Cubao and Pasay. Naturally, the Bus companies were not going to let this happen. Even if all four integrated bus terminals were already up and running, bus companies with existing EDSA franchises will not roll over and play dead once a BRT is made exclusive to EDSA and the three proposed loops on Ortigas, BGC and Ayala.

C-5's problems

The planned BRT for C-5 also faces the same problems. Many portions of C-5 have sections too narrow for any exclusive BRT guideway. These chicanes are the flyovers and at grade service roads of the Kalayaan twinned elevated U-turns, Bagong Ilog flyover, Ortigas-C-5 flyover, Libis-Blue Ridge tunnel and flyover complex and the Luzon Ave.-Commonwealth flyover. This list doesn't even include the proposed Katipunan express viaduct that rises above the Katipunan junctions to Ateneo-Miriam and CPGarcia in UP. Nor the C-5 elevated tollway from Libis to Luzon Ave. as proposed by Metro Pacific Tollways.

The PhilTrak solution

Like a long suppressed blast from the past, PHILTRAK, the original BRT, born in the Philippines since 1989 and continuously updated as a mass transit network for the Metro since 1999, seems to have a workable and far more economic solution. Now a fully beefed up consortium of domestic providers of technology, skilled labor, local manufacturing, engineering design, transport and finance PHILTRAK envisages a BRT network on EDSA, C-5, Commonwealth and Quezon Ave. that will snuggle up on the curbside with dedicated elevated boarding platforms for commuters. PHILTRAK will only take one half of today's current double yellow bus lane. In tight areas on some junctions of EDSA and C-5, PHILTRAK will have one bus guideway elevated over the at-grade traveling in opposite directions. So as not to antagonize the bus firms that heavily invested in terminals in Cubao and Pasay, PHILTRAK will invite the bus firms to be a member of the consortium and now function as intermodal transport to the feeder routes of the PHILTRAK mainline.

Subway, the pipe dream

What would take longer to build but hopefully minimize any kind of surface traffic aggravation is the Subway. Though Metro Manila is flood prone, today's technology makes even cross harbor subway crossings feasible, though the expense of keeping the subway flood free would be more than considerable. Compared to Manhattan [bedrock] and Hong Kong [granite], Metro Manila's substrata is mostly adobe, porous and easier to bore. Burrowing technology can easily dig deep enough to avoid disturbing the foundations of the buildings and dwellings of BGC, Ayala CBD and MoA, and the areas to be serviced by the Subway. The Upcoming Japanese funded USD7.0B subway from Quezon Memorial Circle to BGC and NAIA [MoA later on]studiously take the Metro's high ground to avoid the flood prone coast though it would skirt the Marikina Valley Fault line. The future Ayala CBD loop will be an engineering feat considering what lies beneath this country's skyscraper dense city. What needs to be clarified are the property rights of such as our laws are not clear on such matters. Being a judicial matter, expect issues on this to be not as simple as cut and shut.

All of EDSA as a pedestrian zone

If both the Subway and BRT are finished and the 3 cross metro highways are whole and functioning, only then can we revisit Felino Palafox's proposal to convert EDSA and its last overdue flyover complexes [Tramo-Taft-Roxas Blvd. and Roosevelt-North-West Ave.] into a garden parkway consisting of BRT, MRT-3, bikeways, broad and landscaped pedestrian “highways” [like in Seoul, S. Korea and High Line in Manhattan] while instituting the U-turn systems, limited access for private vehicle traffic to cross EDSA and banning all forms of through or transit traffic for private vehicles. This is in conjunction with Mr. Palafox's long time reminders of tripling the number of bridges across the Pasig and his more recent proposal of building more foot bridges crossing the Pasig spaced 800m apart.

Gloom, doom and our near term solution

We admit, we present a gloomy picture for the next 6 years despite the zeal and the bright direction of the PRRD administration. Even if emergency powers were enacted for traffic alleviation and even if there are willing financiers, the big ticket items like the EDSA BRT and Subway are going to be a heavy debt burden while positive results are not absolutely guaranteed. Still, a lot can be achieved by dispersing the bus terminals, air and sea transport hubs, and applying our favorite quick but flexible solution that we previously proposed : congestion charging like London's and Singapore's ERP but using the simpler E-PASS platform.

https://www.autoindustriya.com/inside-man/building-the-metro-subway-and-brt-how-hard-can-it-be.html

EDITORIAL Dialogue works

After a decade, a common station that will link three railways in Metro Manila is finally pushing through. Ending years of controversy, the government broke ground for the project last Friday, with officials of all private-sector stakeholders as witnesses.

The project was planned in 2007. In September 2009, the state-run Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) accepted P200 million from SM Prime Holdings Inc. as goodwill money in exchange for locating the common station beside the Annex at SM North City Edsa and naming rights to it.

That deal was finalized when Leandro Mendoza, since deceased, was transportation and communications secretary.

In April 2014, then Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya decided to include the common station in the bidding for the P65-billion extension of LRT Line 1. It was won by the consortium of businessman Manuel V. Pangilinan’s Metro Pacific Investments Corp. and Ayala Corp., whose Trinoma mall is in front of SM City North Edsa and is the last stop of the MRT3 line.

Abaya insisted then that a common station near Trinoma would save the government P1 billion. This prompted SM to sue the government for breach of the September 28, 2009 agreement on the common station being located near The Annex at SM City North Edsa.

In August 2014, the Supreme Court stopped the transportation department and the LRTA from transferring the location of the common station to Trinoma.

This as Transportation and Communications Secretary Joseph Emilio A. Abaya said Friday morning the department would likely move to next week the awarding of the LRT Line 1 Cavite Extension project contract -- which includes the common station design segment -- to the Ayala-Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) consortium. "We are still waiting for two signatures in the Light Rail Authority (LRTA) Board Resolution and an Office of the Solicitor General (OSG)," Mr. Abaya said in a text message.

Acting on the petition for injunction which SM Prime Holdings, Inc. (SMPHI) filed last July 23, the high court issued an indefinite temporary restraining order on Wednesday barring DoTC and LRTA "from proceeding with the transfer" of the common station site.

The high court also ordered DoTC and LRTA to comment on SM Prime’s petition within 10 days from notice.

Given the importance of the project, Abaya pushed for a compromise and even suggested two small common stations — one each in The Annex at SM City North Edsa and in Trinoma. The decision on the project hung for the remainder of the Aquino III administration.

When President Duterte appointed Arthur Tugade as transportation chief last year, one of his first official promises was to solve the impasse on the common station within his first 100 days in office. And this he did, brokering a compromise to locate the common station between the competing malls.

In September 2016, Tugade called all private stakeholders to a dialogue to come up with a solution to the common station problem. Last Jan. 18, a memorandum of agreement was signed among the private stakeholders, the Department of Transportation, and the LRTA outlining the design parameters for a new P2.8-billion common station at the new location.

The delay had jacked up the cost to P2.8 billion from the P2.6 billion estimated in 2009, although the government said the higher price was due to the fact that the station would be bigger or, as Tugade had explained, the new location has an area of 13,700 square meters with almost double the capacity of the original 2009 design.

A major lesson to be learned in this unfortunate episode is that dialogue is key to solving the problem. The penchant of complaining parties or losing companies to hale their competitors to court has never resulted in a win-win situation. It has only delayed many vital projects and caused heavy losses to them and the public that their projects were supposed to serve.

The DOTr should be commended for being able to bring together SM’s Tessie Sy and Hans Sy, Ayala Corp.’s Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, San Miguel Corp. big boss Ramon Ang, and Metro Pacific’s Pangilinan to the table and discuss what could be done to proceed with the common railway station. With the resolution, construction of MRT7 along Commonwealth Avenue to Araneta-Colinas Verdes Subdivision, City of San Jose del Monte, Bulacan by SMC’s unit Universal LRT Corp., which bagged the 25-year concession agreement for the railway line in 2008, can now also go full blast.

The common station that will connect Mega Manila Subway, MRT7, MRT3 and LRT1 will provide a head-to-head platform where train commuters can conveniently transfer from one line to another.

What remain to be done now — and these could be the potential bottlenecks that could delay the project moving forward — would be the right-of-way delivery by the government and how SM and Ayala would go about naming the common station given the fact that both now have naming rights to the project.

If it is delivered on time, commuters in Metro Manila will finally enjoy the convenience of a common station by early 2020.

Read more: http://opinion.inquirer.net/107577/dialogue-works#ixzz4uKdTU781
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Presidential adviser’s call: Bring back PPP

THE government should strengthen its relationship with the country’s private sector, starting with bringing back Public-Private Partnership (PPP) in the implementation of big-ticket infrastructure projects.

This was the call made by Jose Ma. “Joey” Concepcion III, presidential adviser for entrepreneurship, during the 26th Visayas Area Business Conference (VABC) in Cebu City last Friday.

“We have to build the airports, bridges, roads, and all of that. We have to be open to bringing back the PPP. We need entrepreneurs to help government,” he said.

Speaking to around 400 delegates composed of business chamber members from all over the Visayas, Concepcion said involving the private sector in these government undertakings will ensure continuity in the vision for a better economy.

The Duterte administration earlier decided that most of the large PPP projects would be funded by the government or overseas development assistance (ODA) loans.

On the other hand, the private sector in many of these deals would only be allowed to bid for the operations and maintenance component.

The country’s PPP program suffered a major blow last May as the Department of Transportation canceled plans to bid out contracts to modernize, operate, and maintain five regional airports in Davao, Bacolod, Iloilo, Laguindingan and New Bohol.

Earlier reports said the department would instead pursue these projects, estimated to cost P108 billion, using funds from the government or through ODA loans.

By excluding the private sector from major components of these projects, Concepcion said the government may miss out on the “unique” vision that comes with an entrepreneurial mindset.

He mentioned Engineer Edgar Saavedra, who founded Megawide Construction Corporation, which forms part of the GMR-Megawide Cebu Airport Corporation (GMCAC), the private operator of the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA), as one with a “fantastic vision.”

“His (Saavedra) vision is to have your Cebu airport beat Manila. He wants everyone to land in Cebu and take a flight to Manila. That means tourism here will really explode. Will you get that from a secretary? Not really because that is unique,” Concepcion said.

While he recognized that the Cabinet secretaries are hard-working, he also urged them to bring back PPP, stressing that there will be no continuity in vision without the private sector especially with administrations changing every six years.

“Give the construction of a subway to government because it will be too expensive, but management can be bid out down the road eventually. The private sector is really the best in managing things under proper rules. The government regulates and makes sure the public is taken care of in terms of rates and efficiency,” he added.

Concepcion added that allowing the private sector build and manage these projects would mean less expense for the government.

The government planned to spend over P1 trillion for infrastructure projects next year and a total of up to P9 trillion until 2022 under its ambitious “Build, Build, Build” program.

These include roads, bridges, airports, and mass transport systems, among others, spread across the country.


Read more: http://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/149110/presidential-advisers-call-bring-back-ppp#ixzz4uLS9U18n
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Solon seeks abolition of GOCC commission

ALEADER of the House of Representatives last Sunday urged the Palace and the leadership of the 17th Congress to abolish the Governance Commission for the government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs).

In line with the call of President Duterte to eliminate redundant, duplicative and overlapping functions and organizations of the Executive Branch, at least 20 lawmakers have authored House Bill (HB) 3014 repealing of Republic Act (RA) 10149, or GOCC Governance Act of 2011, and abolishing the Governance Commission for GOCCs (GCG).

House Committee on Public Information Chairman Party-list Rep. Bernadette Herrera-Dy of Bagong Henerasyon, one of authors of the HB 3014, said instead of piloting the development and growth of GOCCs, the GCG “became another bureaucratic layer in the already-confounded structure of checks and balances and has been taking up valuable time and resources of the GOCCs”.

“We deem this abolition as necessary and we embodied our sentiments in House Bill 3014. The GCG is too slow. There are still too many GOCCs or state corporations,” she said.

“Functions and duties of the abolished GCG will be transferred to different departments with similar functions and duties. My prime candidate to take over GCG functions is the Presidential Management Staff,” Herrera-Dy added.

According to Herrera-Dy, prior to the passage of RA 10149, all the GOCCs were under the control and supervision of the Office of the President.

She added the GOCCs are also answerable to Congress, the Commission on Audit, the National Economic and Development Authority, Government Procurement Board and Office of Government Corporate Counsel.

In April Herrera-Dy said the GCG counted 212 GOCCs and only two of these were listed as dissolved or abolished while 24 are “under abolition”, while there are 23 nonoperational/inactive GOCCs.

Only three are undergoing privatization which include GSIS Family Bank, Intercontinental Broadcasting Corp. and Southern Utility Management and Services Inc., the lawmaker added.

She said there are four GOCCs involved in mining.

If the GCG is to be consistent with the stance of Duterte against mining, she said these four GOCCs should be abolished: Batong Buhay Gold Mines Inc.; Natural Resources Development Corp.; North Davao Mining Corp.; and Philippine Mining Development Corp.

Herrera-Dy added there are also several GOCCs into food, agriculture and fisheries that should be privatized or merged, including Food Terminal Inc. (should be privatized); National Sugar Development Co. (merge with Philippine Sugar Corp.); Northern Foods Corp. (merge with Phividec); Phividec Panay Agro-Industrial Corp.; and Philippine Sugar Corp.

She said the government should get out of the realty business by abolishing or privatizing five realty holding companies, such as Batangas Land Company, First Cavite Industrial Estate Inc., G.Y. Real Estate Inc.,  kamayan Realty Corp. and Pinagkaisa Realty Corp.

“We have provided in HB 3014 that all officers and employees of the abolished GCG will be given two-and-a-half months’ salary for each year of service as separation pay,” Herrera-Dy added.

x x x

NEWS CONFIRMED

1. ang IBC-13 ay ibebenta ngayong buwan sa halagang 4billion pesos (minimum bid) ayon sa pahayag ni sec. martin andanar. ang mga lumalabas na may interes na bumili ay sina chavit singson+rmn group+smb group, ayala group, at isang negosyante taga davao city...

2. bukod pa dun ang IBC-13 ay mag uumpisa na mag broadcast ng digital ngayong buwan para mag test broadcast, alam naman natin na naka off ang kanilang analog at plano na nilang mga digital lalo na sa oras na maibenta na ito ngayong buwan.

rumors

3. ayon sa ilang source mag uumpisa na ng mag digital broadcast ang delta broadcasting system o DBS ni Bro Mike Z. Velarde ngayong buwan., sa tulong ng abscbn. kamakailan nag color bar test na sila gamit ang frequency na 599.143. nang umandar ang color bar test napansin natin na ang program 2,3,4 ay encrypted, isang posibilidad na magiging exclusive ito sa tvplus users at ang program 1,5,6 program naman ay para sa el shaddai at cbcp tv Maria channel. (eto lamang ay rumours pero ang delta broadcasting system ay totoong pag mamay ni Bro Mike Z. Velarde at nagbalita na sya sa kanyang mga taga sunod na magbubukas ngayong taon ang kanyang frequency o station.)"

MPIC mulls P20-B takeover bid for MRT-3

PANGILINAN-LED Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (MPIC) is considering increasing its proposed takeover bid to rehabilitate and operate Metro Rail Transit-3 to P20 billion from an earlier amount of P12 billion.

“The required amount of investment is larger,” MPIC President and Chief Executive Officer Jose Maria Lim told reporters on Friday, noting that their original proposed investment was only P12 billion.

The amount will be used for the rehabilitation of the whole train system without increasing the fare for at least two years, as well as to operate and maintain it.

Asked whether the new budget for the proposed takeover will reach P20 billion, Lim said, “Including the equity requirement, yes.”

Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade announced in September that the department has granted original proponent status to MPIC for the rehabilitation, maintenance and operation of MRT-3 after the company presented its proposal to Tugade and Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez 3rd.

“NEDA (National Economic and Development Authority) will review the terms of our proposal… then it will be subject to a Swiss challenge,” Lim said.

Meanwhile, MRT-3 General Manager Rudy Garcia said that MRT-3 is currently forming a maintenance transition team, as it plans to terminate its contract with maintenance service provider Busan Universal Rail Inc. (BURI) for incompetence.

Transportation Undersecretary fr Rails Cesar Chavez had earlier blamed BURI for the series of technical glitches encountered by the train system and had threatened the Korean company that the their contract would be terminated.

“After the declaration that it is terminated, we will immediately procure the next maintenance provider,” Chavez earlier said in an aired interview.

“Based on our initial study, we need to procure the maintenance provider until 2025, to make  longer. It is necessary to make it clear to the public the technical and financial capabilities,” according to Chavez.

http://www.manilatimes.net/mpic-mulls-p20-b-takeover-bid-mrt-3/354032/

House OKs bill rationalizing creation of towns, cities, provinces

The House of Representatives has approved on the third and final reading a bill seeking to rationalize the creation of municipalities, highly-urbanized cities, and provinces.

House Bill 6177 aims to amend sections 442, 452, and 461 of Republic Act No. 7160 or the Local Government Code of 1991.

The sections cover the requirements for establishing municipalities and provinces.

The creation of a municipality requires an average annual income of at least P12.5 million for the last two consecutive years, a population of at least 25,000, and adjoining territory of at least 50 kilometers.

The bill also grants Congress the power to declare a city a highly urbanized city within 30 days after it has met the prescribed requirements, which are:

1. a minimum population of 200,000;
2. an average yearly income of at least P250 million for the last two consecutive years.

It further provides that the declaration be ratified in a plebiscite to be conducted in the province in which the city belongs.

Meanwhile, a province may be created if it has a contiguous territory of at least 2,000 square kms, as certified by the Lands Management Bureau, or a population of not less than 250,000 as certified by the Philippine Statistics Authority. — Jessica Bartolome/MDM, GMA News

Railway line connector to be built smack dab in shopping mall area

A friend once related his aversion to riding either the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) or the Light Rail Transit (LRT). This friend is not rich by any stretch of the imagination. He prefers to spend hours stuck in traffic while riding in a bus, rather than have to line up at any MRT or LRT station. The aversion was such that he expected other people to take an extra trip, to practically fetch him if they wish to meet with him.

This friend is not unlike many other commuters, who no longer believe in the MRT/LRT system of transportation. The glitches that result in trains stopping, the long lines during rush hour, maybe even a fear of being pushed to the train tracks – the reasons for disliking the MRT/LRT are many and varied. One thing is certain, though, the MRT and LRT are here to stay despite unbelievers.

A common station for three railway lines will soon rise in the heart of the nation’s capital. The groundbreaking for the common station was led by the Department of Transportation (DOTr).

The station will link LRT-1, a line going from Roosevelt in Quezon City to Baclaran, Pasay City, with MRT-3, from North Avenue, Quezon City to Taft Avenue, Pasay City, and MRT-7, stretching from North Avenue to San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan. Even your friends who hate the sight of an MRT station will not be able to avoid seeing the common station – that is, if they like going to the malls that are Trinoma and SM North. Costing the government some PhP2.8 billion to build, the 13,700 square-meter railway-line connector will be built between the two popular malls.

You may be the kind of shopper who likes having your fish fillet at one of those malls, but hates having to look for vacant tables to eat at. When the time comes, maybe you will just order take-out and eat in your car. Just think of the increase in diners that the new infrastructure will bring – even though the project will take until April 2019 to complete.

Legal obstacles had to be hurdled before DOTr Secretary Arthur Tugade could announce the start of the project. As early as 2009, the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) and SM Prime Holdings Inc. (SMPHI) were co-parties to an agreement for the project to start somewhere near SM North. The DOTr, however, tried to change the location to a site across Trinoma in May 2013. A Temporary Restraining Order was then sought by the SMPHI from the Supreme Court, which granted it in August 2014.

That same Supreme Court Order has now been addressed with a joint manifestation advising the Court of a Memorandum of Agreement among concerned parties. These parties, referred to by Tugade, as “people that matter,” include himself, Public Works Secretary Mark Villar, Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) administrator Reynaldo Berroya, and representatives from SMPHI, LRT-1 operator Light Rail Manila Corporation, and San Miguel Corporation.

The common station will be named by the mall owners, the government will finance and build it, while operation and maintenance will be handled by Light Rail Manila Corp., and the DOTr. The effects of the project will be felt by commuters and shoppers alike.

Quezon City govt backs common station linking Metro rail lines

The Quezon City government has pledged to provide proponents of the Grand Central or Common Station Project all the support necessary to ensure the orderly implementation of the project, which is designed to connect LRT-1, MRT-3, MRT-7 and the recently approved Metro Manila Subway.

Mayor Herbert Bautista said Quezon City’s support would come in the form of traffic management and the provision of security measures.

“With the project expected to serve nearly 500,000 rail passengers on a daily basis once completed, it is imperative that appropriate security measures shall be adopted by Quezon City to ensure the safety of the riding public,” said Bautista during Friday’s groundbreaking ceremony for the project, which is expected to be completed by 2019.

The mayor said the city’s Department of Public Order and Safety will be coordinating closely with project proponents to ensure the orderly movement of traffic during the construction of the project, which is also expected to provide a significant boost to the city’s economy, especially in the areas of trade and commerce.

“This will be very significant for us since this will known as the Quezon City Grand Central Station,” Bautista said.

Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea and Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade were among those present during the groundbreaking ceremony.

According to the Department of Transportation, the grand central or common station, to be built between The Annex at SM City North Edsa and in front of Trinoma mall, is expected to serve approximately 478,000 rail passengers daily by 2020.

Aside from the Grand Central or Common Station, also underway is the construction of the MRT Line 7 Project with 11 of the railway project’s 14 stations to be built within Quezon City.

The Japanese are coming to build first PH subway

Japanese companies are now lining up to win construction contracts for the first subway in the Philippines, and one of them—Hitachi Ltd.—came to Manila to present its engineering capability to undertake what will be the country’s most expensive infrastructure project to date.

“We are explaining our capability to the government and stakeholders,” said Shinya Mitsudomi, corporate officer, group head of sales and managing director of Hitachi Ltd. Japan/Asia Pacific.

Hitachi Ltd. and regional unit Hitachi Asia Ltd. hosted Hitachi Social Innovation Forum 2017 at Makati Shangri-La Hotel in Makati City on Sept. 29 where top executives discussed Hitachi’s contribution towards social innovation for over 100 years, its full product range, turnkey, operations, maintenance solutions and international footprint.

The forum presented Hitachi’s railway solutions, with Mitsudomi discussing the latest trends in the global railway industry, including future technologies on asset monitoring, IOT/analytics and maintenance optimization that Hitachi Rail is spearheading.

“Hitachi has a long history in rail business.  We have a very big global footprint.  That kind of experience is very much important to construct a stable and high-quality railway system in the Philippines.  In addition, we now have a very big and strong turnkey engineering solutions.  We have a lot of experience in the world, including Honolulu, Peru, Taiwan,” Mitsudomi said during a news briefing ahead of the forum.

Hitachi is among the Japanese companies interested in the P355.6-billion  Metro Manila Subway Project and other rail systems that will be implemented by the Philippine government, with the help of Japan International Cooperation Agency, Japan’s main donor agency.

Mitsushiko Shimizu, the barong-clad general manager of Hitachi Asia Ltd. Philippine Branch, said Hitachi would employ more Filipinos once it won the subway project and other infrastructure contracts in the country.  “We have 11 companies here, with 3,000 employees,” Shimizu said.

The subway project, which will run more than 30 kilometers from Mindanao Ave. in Quezon City to FTI in Taguig, before terminating at Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Parañaque City, will be funded by an official development assistance loan from Jica.  The loan will have an interest of 0.10 percent per annum payable in 40 years with a grace period of 12 years.  In exchange of the concessional loan, Japanese companies will be prioritized to handle the construction of the project, which is typical of a Japanese ODA loan agreement.

Hitachi Social Innovation Forum introduced Hitachi’s railway solutions and presented how it could contribute to improving the Philippines’ railway systems and infrastructures. “We are able to provide safe, efficient and sustainable railway systems that are also environment-friendly. Railway has been drawing global attention due to its potential as a form of transportation infrastructure that can deal with many challenges faced by rapidly growing economies like the Philippines,” Shimizu said.

“Through the Hitachi Social Innovation Forum and the company’s Social Innovation Business, we aim to contribute to the Philippines’ growth trajectory in an inclusive and sustainable manner,” Shimizu said.

The subway project is a part of the Duterte administration’s P8-trillion ‘Build, Build, Build’ program that aims to decongest Metro Manila and spread out development to other parts of the country.

Metro Manila Development Authority chairman Danilo Lim said the subway project, along with a longer Skyway, Metro Rail Transit Line 7 along Commonwealth Ave., NLEx-SLEx Connector Road and a rail line from Tutuban to Malolos to Clark will help ease traffic congestion in the coming years.

The Cabinet last month approved the first phase of the subway project that will cost at least P355 billion to build. It involves the construction of a 28-hectare training center and depot in Valenzuela City as well as other related facilities. Implementation period is from 2018 to mid-2025.

National Economic and Development Authority director-general Ernesto Pernia said the first phase of the subway project would not only ease traffic in Metro Manila but also improve the quality of life of Filipinos.  “For one, carbon emissions will be reduced. And, with greater mobility, people can spend more time on things that matter to them,” Pernia said in a statement.

Travel time from Mindanao Ave. to FTI complex in Taguig City is expected to take only 31 minutes onboard the subway rail project.  It is expected to serve 365,000 passengers in the first year of operations.

Phase 1 of the project, or the subway central zone, will traverse six cities, including Valenzuela City (for the depot), Quezon City, Pasig City, Makati City, Taguig City and Parañaque City.  It will have underground stations at Mindanao Ave., Tandang Sora, North Ave., Quezon Ave., Kamuning, Cubao, Santolan-Annapolis, Ortigas North, Ortigas South, Kalayaan Ave., Fort Bonifacio, Cayetano Boulevard, FTI and Naia.

Phase 2 will extend the subway to Bahay Pare Road, City of Meycauayan, Bulacan in the north and to City of Dasmariñas, Cavite in the south.

First phase of the subway project was previously designed to end at FTI, but Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade, along with other economic managers, pushed to have a spur line extending the subway to Naia to make it easier for airport passengers to get to their destination in Metro Manila.

“In most of our neighboring countries in Asia, you can reach the city without ever leaving the platform. So, economic managers thought we’re going to build a subway anyway. So why not push to extend it to Naia? It just makes perfect sense. The extension will mean greater connectivity and improved passenger comfort and convenience,” Tugade said in a separate statement.

Groundbreaking is currently scheduled in fourth quarter of 2018 while target completion is 2025. Cabinet officials, however, asked Jica to expedite the start of construction so that a portion of the subway can open within the term of President Rodrigo Duterte.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III recently led a Philippine delegation to the 3rd Philippines-Japan High-Level Meeting of the Joint Committee on Infrastructure Development and Economic Cooperation in Tokyo to push for “Fast and Sure” principle.

The Filipino and Japanese officials agreed to streamline their respective approval processes and introduce measures to put in the fast lane the implementation of the subway and other big-ticket infrastructure projects presented by Manila to Tokyo for possible financing.

Dominguez said in a statement that “significant milestones” were reached in the processing of the jointly agreed project list between the two countries.

“Now that our plans have progressed, we intend to lay out specific plans on how to expedite the processing and implementation of the flagship projects,” Dominguez said.

Atsushi Konno, general manager of Hitachi Asia Ltd.’s corporate communications group, said Hitachi has the capability to complete major rail projects on schedule, based on its performance in other countries.

Hitachi focuses on the so-called social innovation business and offers a broad range of information and telecommunication systems, power systems, social infrastructure and industrial systems, electronic systems and equipment, construction machinery, high functional materials and components, automotive systems, home appliances and others.

Hitachi said that under its 2018 mid-term management plan, it targets to increase its overseas sales ratio to more than 55 percent. “The Philippines will play an instrumental role in helping Hitachi achieve this target by focusing on energy management, railway and urban development solutions in addition to its high functional materials and ICT businesses,” the Japanese company said.

Coco gustong humarap sa Gabriela para humingi ng dispensa at malinis ang pangalan

Si Coco Martin ang pinakamatinding nasapol ng intriga sa katatapos lamang na The Naked Truth Bench Fashion Show

dahil sa number nito kung saan ay rumampa siya with a lady model na nakatali sa leeg na parang pet niya.

Ang nasabing number ay nakatawag ng pansin sa women’s rights advocates partikular na ang grupo ng Gabriela at ang Philippine Commission on  Women describing the act as “degrading and dehuma­nizing portrayal of women”.

Nauna nang nagbigay ng apology statement ang may-ari ng Bench na si Ben Chan and as of press time ay may bago na naman silang ini-release na public apology kung saan ay humingi rin sila ng apology kay Coco for involving him in the controversial scene kasabay ng pagklaro sa pangalan ng aktor by saying na naatasan lang daw ito na mag-portray ng karakter para sa nasabing fashion show.

Kahapon ay ang mga abogado naman ni Coco ang humarap sa isang presscon para klaruhin ang pangalan ng aktor. Present were Atty. Lorna Kapunan and her associates, Atty. Sonya Margarita Castillo at Atty. Russel E. Tacla.

Sa press statement na ginawa ng law firm, nakasaad doon na sinserong humihingi ng dispensa at pang-unawa ang aktor at labis din itong nalulungkot sa pangyayaring naka-offend siya ng publiko nang hindi niya kagustuhan.

“Mr. Martin sincerely expresses his apology and requests the public for understanding. Mr. Martin equally feels bad about the incident and saddened at the thought that he unwittingly offended the public.

“While offering no excuse and admits that a mistake has been made, Mr. Martin wants to set the record straight about the incident.

“Mr. Martin has an existing contract with Bench to model its apparels and this same contract obliges him to appear in fashion show for Bench. Nevertheless, Mr. Martin nor his manager or staff, was not involved in the conceptualization of the productions of The Naked Truth Show nor the segment entitled The Animal Within Me (kung saan kabilang ang number ni Coco). He only appeared once for a rehearsal which was a day prior to the show and it was only then that the role as a ring master, was given to him,” parte ng nakasaad sa press statement.

Sa rehearsal daw ay gusto nang i-voice out ni Coco ang kanyang concern partikular na ang leash strapped sa leeg ng babaeng modelong kasama niya sa number pero dahil puro foreigners halos ang staff (including the choreo­grapher), hindi raw nagawa ito ng aktor because of the language barrier.

“Mr. Martin feels extremely sorry for what trans­pired and admitted that the incident taught him a major lesson to be more sensitive and mindful in the repercussions of his portrayals. Let it be clarified however, that Mr. Martin did not have the slightest intention on his mind to insult women by this single unfortunate act. Mr. Martin has high regard for women just as he respects and loves his mother, his grandmother and his three sisters.

“Mr. Martin humbly asks for the public’s understanding and assures the public that he will no longer allow himself to be obliged to participate in a similar insensitive portrayal,” saad pa ng statement.

Idinagdag din ni Atty. Kapunan na binabalak din ni Coco na humarap sa grupo ng Gabriela at Philippine Commission on Women para personal na magpaliwanag at klaruhin ang kanyang pangalan.

Hinihiling din ni Atty. Kapunan na alisin ang segment ni Coco sa DVD copy (kung meron man) ng show o anumang video copy ng The Naked Truth na ire-release ng Bench kung sakali.

Samantala, hindi nakarating ang Ikaw Lamang actor sa na­sabing presscon dahil may commitment ito, pero ayon sa kanyang manager na si Biboy Arboleda ay malungkot daw ang aktor.

“Honestly, malungkot si Coco. He’s down. Isa ito sa pinakama­la­king dagok na nadaanan niya,” he said.

Magse-celebrate raw ng 10th anniversary si Coco kasabay ng kaarawan nito sa Nov. 1 at tinatanong niya raw ang alaga kung ano ang gusto nitong gawin.

“He’s never been to Boracay and he dreamt of going to Boracay dahil hindi talaga kaya ng schedule, so sabi ko, “punta tayo ng Boracay, dalhin natin ang pamilya mo”.

“Pero parang wala siyang lakas, para siyang isang gulay na nanlulumo. Malungkot ang anak ko. Hindi niya siguro inaasahan na darating ito at mangyayari ito nang ganito kalaki.

“Kung meron siyang saloobin, may kinakasama ba siya ng loob, may tao ba or grupo ba siya na kinatatampuhan, ang sasabihin ko sa inyo ay oo. Pero huwag n’yo na akong tanungin kung sino o alin kasi pang-ibang presscon iyon,” say pa ni Mother Biboy.

Inamin din ng manager na apektado na ang trabaho ni Coco dahil sa isyung ito at ayaw pa niyang i-divulge kung anu-anong proyekto o endorsements ito pero ‘pag lumala pa raw ang sitwas­yon ay baka raw magpatawag sila ulit ng presscon para i-reveal ito.

KC natameme sa mga hinaing ni Sharon!

Invited pala sa Star Magic Ball ang mga da­ting talent ng Star Magic dahil ipinagdiriwang ngayong 2017 ang 25th anniversary ng talent management agency ng ABS-CBN.

Ang 25th anniversary celebration ang dahilan kaya invited sina Claudine Barretto, Heart Evangelista-Escudero at ang ibang mga former talent ng Star Magic na nag-ober da bakod sa ibang television network, naghanap ng ibang mga mamahala sa career nila, o hindi na active sa showbiz.

Never na naging contract star ng Star Magic si Sharon Cuneta na super emote dahil hindi invited sa Star Magic Ball at hindi rin natuwa nang makatanggap siya ng last-minute invite.

Habang open sa paglalabas ng saloobin ang nanay niya, tahimik lang si KC Concepcion na ex-talent ng Star Magic at naimbitahan sa mga nakaraang Star Magic Ball.

Ayaw pakabog sa ex, Rocco handa na rin sa hubaran

Excited na si Rocco Nacino na rumampa sa underwear show ng Bench sa November 18.

Pinaghahandaang mabuti ni Rocco ang kanyang paghuhubad kaya super diet at super exercise ang inaatupag niya.

May isang buwan at kalahati pa ang preparasyon ni Rocco na ready nang maging daring sa mga sexy pictorial, gaya ng kanyang ex-dyowa na si Lovi Poe na celebrity endorser din ng Bench.

Nalaman ng madlang-bayan ang pagrampa ni Rocco sa underwear show ng Bench dahil ito ang ibi-nalita niya sa mga reporter na dumalaw noon sa taping ng Haplos, ang afternoon drama series ng GMA 7 na pinagbibidahan nila ni Sanya Lopez.

Louise ginawang sinungaling ni Aljur

Wondering ang fans sa reaksyon at sa-sabihin ni Louise delos Reyes sa pag-amin ni Aljur Abrenica na naging magdyowa sila noon.

Super deny pa naman si Louise sa mga reporter na nakausap niya sa kanyang contract signing noon sa Viva Artists Agency.

Tapos biglang umamin si Aljur dahil magkasama sila sa isang show ng ABS-CBN.

Dahil sa admission ni Aljur, nalagay sa alanganin ang credibility ni Louise. In all fairness sa mga reporter na nakausap niya, hindi nila pinaniwalaan ang denial ni Louise dahil ang staff ng ABS-CBN ang nagkuwento na na-sight nila ang dalawa na nag-check in sa isang hotel sa Subic. Hindi naman magsisinungaling ang staff na nagkataon na nasa Subic din noon. Ang Subic ang location ng taping ng Kambal Sirena, ang telefantasya ng GMA 7 na pinagtambalan nina Louise at Aljur noong 2014.

Ang tsismis na may secret relationship sina Aljur at Louise ang dahilan ng break-up nito kay Enzo Pineda.

Ngayon, magkakasama na ang tatlo sa ABS-CBN pero past is past. Knowing Enzo na isang mabait at marespeto na bata, naka-move on na siya sa heartaches na naranasan niya sa pakikipagrelasyon kay Louise.

May iba nang girlfriend si Enzo na walang kinalaman sa showbiz at going strong ang kanilang love affair. Boyfriend pa rin ni Louise si Champ Lui Pio samantalang live in partners at may isa nang anak sina Aljur at Kylie Padilla.

Hope for commuters

A member of my city hall staff shared with me a Facebook post from one of Antipolo City’s most distinguished pioneer residents – Mr. Frank Padilla, an international Catholic lay spiritual leader and the son of the revered Filipino lawmaker, Senator Ambrosio Padilla.

The Padillas were among the first “Antipoleños-by-choice” who opted to make the city their home. Even before there was a concrete four-lane Sumulong Highway connecting the city proper at the summit to Marikina Valley, the Padillas had already built a residential haven which people have long referred to as “Alpadi.”

“Alpadi” has one of the best locations on the road leading up to Antipolo proper. It was built on a site many call the “overlooking” – a term used by many generations to describe the breathtaking view of Metro Manila and environs one gets to appreciate when one stands are that part of Sumulong Highway.

Recent rapid modernization and the phenomenon of the urban sprawl may have taken away from Alpadi the tranquility that it used to enjoy.

From the 50s to the late 80s, Alpadi had few neighbors. There was the imposing white building which once housed the Redemptorist Minor Seminary. There was the Nipa Hut, the rest-house of the Lopez Family. There once was Sarmiento Farms which was then one of the country’s biggest poultry and livestock plants.

Other than those early “settlers” the stretch where Alpadi sits was nothing more than a deserted road in the evening where hardly any vehicle passed.

Things have changed.

Frank Padilla and the many others who made Rizal and Antipolo home are experiencing the byproducts of the rapid change.

In his Facebook post, Frank said, “2 hours & 15 minutes from Antipolo to Greenmeadows. 20 minutes going back.”

Frank must have left Alpadi during the morning rush and returned during the part of the day when the whole-day number coding rule was in effect in the areas along his route that are within the jurisdiction of Metro Manila.

Frank’s experience and woes are not unique. They are shared by the many other daily commuters and motorists who traverse the two major routes to the areas east of Metro Manila: Marcos Highway and Ortigas Avenue Extension. The trip to and from these areas become even more difficult when there is a heavy afternoon downfall and at the onset of the Christmas season.

There’s hope.

Part of the reason for the rather heavy vehicular traffic along Marcos Highway is the ongoing construction of the extension of LRT Line 2. Just in case we may have forgotten, that project is expected to be completed by 2019 – barring any major glitch.

Once that project is completed, the LRT Line 2 will have an additional capacity of some 75,000 passengers per day, or a total capacity of 315,000 passengers per day from the current capacity of 240,000.

The trains will run from Masinag in Antipolo. If plans are carried out based on original intent, the other end of the line will also be extended from CM Recto to Pier 4 in the City of Manila.

We can also hope that with the completion of the project in 2019, Marcos Highway will be free from major construction activities. We can also hope that there will be fewer cars as more residents of Rizal and Antipolo may opt to leave their private vehicles behind and use the extended light rail transport system instead.

By the way, the traffic situation along Ortigas extension worsened starting last month because of the road improvement being done by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) right in front of SM Ortigas East. DPWH said it would be completed come October.

Second, the real C6 hasn’t been bidded out but it will be soon. People got used to calling the road dike (by Laguna Lake) connecting Taguig to Taytay C6, but in reality, the real C6 is yet to be constructed.

For commuters and motorists using the Ortigas Avenue Extension route on their way to Makati and the areas south of Metro Manila, the completion of two major roads should provide a breather. The first is the road dike that connects Taytay to Taguig City. This is what many have been used to calling the C-6 Road. The fact is the real C-6 construction project is yet to take off. That would further ease up traffic when it becomes a reality.

The other one are the two other planned road dikes that will run on the shorelines of Laguna de bay. One is the Laguna Lake Expressway Dike (LLED) Project and the other, the Rizal Eastlake Development (RED) Project.

The expansion of options for commuters and motorists may not be sufficient to solve the jam in our roadways. We hope that two other things come about: greater road discipline and patience among all road users.

The expansion of roadways and route options follow the law of physics: there is going to be an opposite reaction. As the options expand, so will the population. The improving means of transportation will merely serve as an encouragement for more people to build their homes in areas farther from the center of the metropolis.

We foresee that as these options expand and as the light rail transit system expansion is completed, more families will choose to reside in the towns of Rizal that lie along the backdoor route towards Laguna.

We miss the days when going up and down Antipolo along Sumulong Highway was a breeze.

That’s probably how life is. Populations grow. Spaces become smaller. We will have to learn to share that ever-contracting space with one another.



*For feedback, please email it to antipolocitygov@gmail.com or send it to #4 Horse Shoe Drive, Beverly Hills Subdivision, Bgy. Beverly Hills, Antipolo City, Rizal.

Joe Taruc, pillar of broadcasting industry, signs off at 70

Veteran broadcast journalist Jose Malgapo Taruc Jr., widely known as Joe Taruc, passed away at around 3 a.m. on Saturday, his family confirmed.

He was 70.

“Our father, Jose M. Malgapo, Jr. or, Joe Taruc to many of us, has gone to join  his Creator, early morning of September 30, 2017,” Taruc’s son, GMA broadcaster and television host Jay Taruc, said in a statement.

“He died in his sleep. At this point, our family would like to request some time to mourn his death and celebrate his life in private,” he added.

Announcements will soon be made regarding the details for Taruc’s wake and interment, Jay said.

Taruc’s colleagues and politicians mourned his passing, whom they described as the “voice of the truth.”

“Para sa maraming kababayan natin na nakikinig ng radyo, si Joe Taruc ang boses ng katotohanan,” Sen. Grace Poe said in a statement.

(For many of our fellow men who listen to the radio, Joe Taruc is the voice of the truth.)

“Ang kanyang matalim na komentaryo at malinaw na pag-uulat ang sandigan ng paniniwala ng ating mga kababayan. Ang kanyang pagpanaw ay mag-iiwan ng malaking kahungkagan sa pamamahayag sa himpapawid,” she added.

(His sharp commentaries and clear reportage was the anchor of our people’s belief. His death left a huge void in broadcasting.)

Senator Sonny Angara, in a tweet, also expressed his grief over Taruc’s passing.

Malacañang also paid tribute to Taruc and condoled with his family on his passing.

“We offer our deepest condolences to the family of news anchor Jose ‘Joe’ Taruc Jr.,” presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella said.

“Manong Joe was an institution in the radio broadcast industry,” he added. “A multi-awarded journalist, Mr. Taruc became the pillar of DZRH where he held several key positions. The nation mourns the passing of radio broadcast giant Joe Taruc. He will be missed.”

“I will never forget the lively interviews and discussions with Manong JT,” said Sen. Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito, referring to Taruc’s initials.

Senator Joel Villanueva praised Taruc for his sense of professionalism and integrity.

“Can truly be considered a legend as he competently served in the broadcast industry for four decades. Indeed, his voice is something we would like to hear on a daily basis,” he said. “We will always remember him not only as a respected and credible journalist but also as a good man.”

Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar paid tribute to Taruc on his Facebook page.

“To the legendary Manong Joe Taruc, thank you for everything! I will forever be grateful,” Andanar said in his post that accompanied a photo of him with the late broadcaster at a dzRH studio.

Born Jose M. Malgapo Jr., the veteran radio host was a respected and multiawarded broadcast journalist with four decades of work over the radio and contributions to the media industry.

An accounting graduate of Jose Rizal College, he was involved with different broadcast networks as a reporter before becoming part of Manila Broadcasting Co. (MBC) in 1986, where he also became a board director.
In 2001, Taruc became the vice president of dzRH, the radio unit of MBC. He also served as station manager.

At dzRH, he anchored public affairs programs like “Liberty in Action” and “Damdaming Bayan,” where he tackled and made in-depth analyses of important national issues. /atm


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Veteran broadcaster Joe Taruc dies

Industry colleagues and politicians pay tribute to the 'legendary' Joe Taruc, who passed away at age 70

After decades of interviews and reports on air, veteran radio broadcaster Jose "Joe" M. Taruc, Jr. signed off for the last time on Saturday, September 30.

Taruc anchored Damdaming Bayan and Pangunahing Balita on dzRH, where he was vice president. He just turned 70 on September 17.

In a tweet, Senator Juan Edgardo Angara remembered Taruc as an "institution in the broadcast industry."

"As someone undergoing dialysis, he supported our free dialysis bill," Angara said.

Senator Grace Poe remembered Taruc as a "sharp" commentator whose reports always sided with the ordinary Filipino.

"Sana'y magsilbing inspirasyon sa mga mamamahayag ng kasalukuyan at hinaharap si Manong Joe. Nakikiramay po kami sa kanyang naulilang pamilya at mga tagapakinig sa buong bansa," Poe said in a statement.

(May he serve as an inspiration to present and future journalists. We offer our condolences to his family and listeners nationwide.)

Communications Secretary Martin Andanar remembered the broadcaster as "legendary."

"I will forever be grateful," said Andanar, himself a broadcaster before joining government.

ABS-CBN leads nationwide ratings

ABS-CBN kept its lead in nationwide TV ratings in August, bringing values-oriented programs and relevant news stories to more viewers in the country.

ABS-CBN said in a statement that it remained unbeatable nationwide with an average audience share of 46 percent compared to GMA’s 33 percent, based on data from Kantar Media.

ABS-CBN said it ruled the primetime block (6 p.m. to 12 a.m.) with an audience share of 50 percent, 19 points higher than GMA’s 31 percent.

According to ABS-CBN, it continued to strengthen its lead with its morning (6 a.m. to 12 noon) and afternoon blocks (12 noon to 3 p.m.) that scored average audience shares of 40 percent an 43 percent, respectively, against GMA’s 30 percent and 38 percent.

ABS-CBN said it also kept its total day lead in other areas such as Total Luzon as it hit 42 percent versus GMA’s 35 percent; in Total Visayas with 55 percent versus GMA’s 26 percent; and in Total Mindanao with 54 percent versus GMA’s 29 percent.

“FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano” (38.6%) still led the list of most watched programs in August, followed by “Little Big Shots” (35.9%), KathNiel-starrer “La Luna Sangre” (33.7%), “A Love to Last” and “TV Patrol” (32.5%), “Wansapanataym” (28.1%); “MMK” (27.4%); and “Wildflower” (25.3%).

Also landing on the Top 20 list were “Ikaw Lang ang Iibigin”, “It's Showtime”, “Pusong Ligaw”, “The Better Half”, “Home Sweetie Home” (24.9%) and “Goin’ Bulilit” (22.7%), which is currently celebrating a decade of bringing fun and laughter to viewers.

• • •

What’s super in Marian?

In a recent interview, Meg Imperial and Kim Domingo, two of the stars of the GMA primetime series “Super Ma’am” were asked what they find “super” in the Kapuso Primetime Queen Marian Rivera.

Kim answered quickly it’s Marian’s being “Super totoo!” And Meg said “Super mom,” referring to her doing perfect role as mother to her and Dingdong Dantes’ daughter Zia.

Fans are thrilled that the three actresses wand respectful relationship off-cam; after all this is important to establish good working chemistry on the set.

This early, viewers are hooked on the primetime series because of its unique story, and the exciting elements like the actionpacked initial scenes, the fantasy and even comic parts.

“Super Ma’am” airs weeknights on GMA Telebabad.

• • •

Tidbits: Happy b-day greetings today, Sept. 30, go to former Senator Leticia Ramos-Shahani, former beauty queen and DOT Sec. Gemma Cruz, PDI lifestyle editor Thelma San Juan, Ruth Abao, Virgilio Gonzales, Gerry Contreras, Arthur R. Lingad, Baby Canales Santamaria, Leonida Andrade, Dr. Adora P. Veal, Aida Arceo, Theresita Brazil, Baby Vidal Lavarro, Ruben Silvestre, Ma. Cristina Maralit, Sari Paz Villar Tan, Edwin G. Trumpeta, Mike Sandejas, Raquel Monteza, Danny Jamora of Malacañang, Michael Fernando and Denise Laurel of Star Magic…Oct. 1: Fr. Gerry Orbos, GMA-7’s Marivin Arayata, Charito Makalintal, Charo G. Yu. Reginald A. Oben, Vikki Lizzi, Ma. Elena Sen Lim, Remy Umerez, Angelita Consignado-Lim, Jap Uminga, Juliet Lee-uy, Mario A. Somera, US-based Rhoeda Farolan, Shirlee S. Castro, Jojo Lasaga Labrador of California, Reynald Oro and Mico del Rosario of Star Cinema…Oct. 2: Ma. Theresa “Maite” T. Defensor, Almond N. Aguila, Rose Hilario-Libongco, Emily Joy Legados, Angie Favis, US-based Terry Aldeguer, Anna Josefil “Jojo” B. Cadiente, Edgardo Cepe, Graiebelle Banaria Espiritu, Zeny Yumol-Sato, Angelita Villena-Castllo, Chit Guerrero and Atty. Adel Tamano…

LRT-MRT common station operational in 2-3 years: Tugade

The Common Station linking the Light Rail Transit (LRT) and Metro Rail Transit (MRT) system is expected to start operating in two to three years after its construction began Friday.

“We want to thank our private sector partners for making the Common Station a reality. They have set aside their private interests for the good of the country,” Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said in his address during the groundbreaking ceremony held in Quezon City.

Tugade said building the Common Station is a manifestation of the government’s commitment to ensure the comfort of commuters.

“We will finish this project for the convenience of the riding public,” he said.

The Common Station will connect the LRT-1, MRT-3, and MRT-7, as well as the proposed Mega Manila Subway System.

The 13,700-square meter station will be built between The Annex at SM City North EDSA and Landmark Trinoma with a spacious concourse area that will facilitate the seamless transfer of passengers from one line to another.

Light Rail Manila Corp. (LRMC) President Rogelio Singson described the location as ideal for the expected volume of passengers.

“Passengers of LRT-1, of which LRMC is a shareholder, can now travel from Quezon City to Baclaran in under an hour. And when the extension project is completed, passengers from Cavite may reach Quezon City in an hour,” Singson said.

The Common Station is expected to serve approximately 478,000 passengers daily by 2020.

Ayala Corp. likewise committed to start the construction of the concourse by next month.

“The Common Station will provide safety and convenience to hundreds of thousands of passengers. We are glad to be a step closer to completion and we promise to go full blast with construction,” said Bobby Dy, President and CEO of Ayala Land Inc.

Among those who attended the ceremony were Presidential Communications and Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Chief Representative Susumu Ito, Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) Administrator Reynaldo Berroya, MRT-3 General Manager Rodolfo Garcia, Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista, Ayala Corp. President and CEO Fernando Zobel de Ayala, and SM Prime Holdings Inc. (SMPHI) President Jeffrey Sy Lim.

It is a joint project of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Department of Transportation (DOTr), SMPHI, San Miguel Corp., LRMC, North Triangle Depot Commercial Corp., Department of Public Works and Highways, and the LRTA.

Last January, a memorandum of agreement was signed by the government, Metro Pacific Investments Corp. Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan, SMPH Director Hans T. Sy, Ayala Corp. CEO Jaime Zobel de Ayala, and SMC President and CEO Ramon S. Ang, ending a deadlock spanning nearly eight years.

The government will shell out PHP2.8 billion for the construction of the Common Station’s Area A where the head-to-head platform for LRT-1 and MRT-3 will be located between Landmark and Trinoma Mall.

The Detailed Engineering Design by the Independent Consultant and finalization of the Parcellary Survey Plan with the help of Google Maps, while the 3D renders by a Hong Kong-based international firm, while the station drawings are: Landmark Station street level, concourse (2nd floor) and platform levels (3rd floor) floor plan cross section, existing North Avenue MRT-3 station with footbridge street level, concourse and platform level floor plan and cross section.

The station will be financed and built by the DOTr, while its operation, maintenance, and development will be split between LRMC for LRT-1 and DOTr for MRT-3.

Eat Bulaga OBB | September 30, 2017

Hitachi eyes Manila subway, railway to Clark

Japanese conglomerate Hitachi Ltd. is interested in the Mega Manila Subway and Manila-Clark railway projects as it looks to exand its business in the Philippines..

“We have a very strong turnkey engineering solutions,” Asia Pacific Hitachi Ltd., Railway Systems Business Unit Shinya Mitsudomi said in a press briefing on Friday.

Mitsudomi said the company had met with government officials about participation in several infrastructure projects. He also said that Hitachi was in talks with “several” Philippine business groups that are interested in investing in the rail sector.

Both the proposed Mega Manila Subway and Manila-Clark railway projects will be funded by official development assistance from Japan.

“The rail project is a massive project…We have to employ a lot of Philippine people in order to execute the project,” Mitsudomi said.

Hitachi has previously said that it was keen on public-private partnership projects in the Philippines, particulary for transportation, either as a supplier or contractor.

Where Duterte is doing better than Aquino

Last of 2 parts

AS recounted in the first part published Tuesday, President Rodrigo Duterte has been quick to address the runaway crime and massive underspending under his predecessor Benigno Aquino 3rd. That has given Duterte public approval ratings nearing or exceeding 80 percent in all major polls.

After tripling under Aquino, overall crime incidence fell by about one-third within months of Duterte’s takeover. And from 13 percent of national budgets unspent in 2014-2015, leaving some ₱1 trillion unused when Aquino stepped down, nearly all allocations were utilized this year.

Now, let’s look at corruption and national security. On sleaze, Duterte avoided one Aquino trait that abetted graft: cronyism.

Aquino jailed perceived opponents, including his predecessor Gloria Arroyo over charges the United Nations called politically motivated. But Aquino defended appointees, starting with shooting buddy Rico Puno, accused of getting jueteng payoffs and mishandling the August 2010 Luneta hostage crisis.

This despite dubious contracts in train maintenance and upgrading, vehicle plates and driver’s licenses; drug trafficking and illegal furloughs in the national penitentiary; and police firearms overpricing, which Aquino himself uncovered but never punished. He even paid the bail for Liberal Party mates indicted for graft.

And when more than 2,000 uninspected and untaxed cargo containers went missing in 2011—the biggest spate of smuggling in the country ever—Aquino ordered no investigation, and the Palace even suspended a Customs deputy commissioner who blew the whistle after 600 boxes had vanished.

Result: contraband tripled to an unprecedented $26.6 billion in 2014, from $7.9 billion in 2009, based on International Monetary Fund data. The estimated undeclared or misdeclared value of imports topped ₱4 trillion under Aquino, with evaded value-added tax alone exceeding ₱700 billion.

Contrast all that with Duterte’s firing of two longtime supporters over reported irregularities, including a stalwart of his PDP-Laban party then handling police and local governments. And he has promised to resign if his children are proven corrupt. No wonder two-thirds of Filipinos approve of his anti-graft campaign, as surveyed by US pollster Pew Research Center.

For sure, like drugs, corruption will take forever to eradicate, as Duterte himself admits. But swift action on drug smuggling through customs and trafficking at New Bilibid Prison, in stark contrast to Aquino’s inaction, are reversing past ills.

The war on terror

On terrorism, some experts blame President Duterte and his security chiefs for not moving fast and strong enough against extremists. No matter that he instantly declared martial law over all Mindanao when told of the Marawi assault while visiting Moscow, even without such recommendation from the Department of National Defense or the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

What belies critics claiming Duterte, DND and AFP complacency are the months of offensives waged against Islamic State-linked extremists, including the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), which broke away from the main Muslim insurgency, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, when the MILF shelved secession and began talks for autonomy in the 1990s.

Aquino too faced Muslim rebel attack: the siege of Zamboanga City by the Moro National Liberation Front, from which the MILF broke away after the MNLF accepted autonomy in a 1996 peace accord. The older Front felt excluded and disadvantaged by Aquino’s MILF negotiations.

Which leader fought terrorism more effectively? One can’t compare two different situations, but in one crucial respect, Duterte may have done better. The MILF is now mounting offensives against the BIFF with AFP support.

That’s the exact opposite of what happened in the January 2015 police commando raid to kill Malaysian bomb terrorist Marwan in a BIFF lair in Mamasapano, Maguindanao province, central Mindanao. MILF and BIFF rebels wiped out 44 troopers of the elite Philippine National Police Special Action Force.

In the massacre—the worst in PNP history—the AFP did not fire artillery or send reinforcements to save the SAF 44, apparently for fear of scuttling the MILF accord, the concern cited by a senior general in command of units that could have responded. The Manila Times also reported that Aquino, worried over the peace pact, ordered the military to stand down.

Plainly, having the MILF battling terrorists with the AFP is far better than the insurgents joining extremists in decimating our troops. And if Filipinos were asked if they approved of Aquino’s counter-terrorism strategy, he would score far below Duterte’s 64 percent Pew rating.

Dealing with the world

The final comparison has to be foreign affairs: Aquino’s pro-American, anti-Chinese stance vs Duterte’s “independent” policy ratcheting down ties with the US, while leveling up with China and Russia.

With Aquino’s adversarial approach, there were Chinese encroachments on Philippine-claimed waters and islets. His Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement would escalate US military presence and give America access to Philippine bases. In response, Beijing built up military-capable facilities in the South China Sea.

President Duterte’s approach, on the other hand, has seen Filipino fishermen return to Panatag Shoal. The Chinese have largely ceased reclamation in the Spratlys. And Beijing has been quick to defuse tensions.

Indeed, Western experts concede that China, in practice, is complying with last year’s ruling on the Philippine case in The Hague’s Permanent Court of Arbitration against Chinese maritime encroachments, even as Beijing formally rejects the PCA decision.

As for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Asian and China have agreed on the framework for the Code of Conduct on activities and issues in the South China Sea.

Lastly, the Philippines is set to receive much more foreign aid and investment, as China, Japan and the US vie for Duterte’s favor. As the economy surges, we can in time acquire the maritime surveillance aircraft, anti-ship missiles, and anti-aircraft systems urged by US defense experts to defend our territorial interests.

In the Pew survey, most Filipinos approve of President Duterte’s handling of relations with both China and America. And if surveyed whether we would like Aquino’s camp to replace Duterte’s at the nation’s helm, it would be no contest.

MRT team readies takeover

The management of Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Line 3 on Friday said it is prepared to take over the maintenance of the mass rail system if the Department of Transportation decides to terminate the contract of Busan Universal Rail Inc. (BURI).

“Actually, we are preparing just in case Secretary Tugade will cancel. We are prepared to take over and have a continuity in the maintenance of the line,” MRT3 general manager Rodolfo Garcia said on the sidelines of the groundbreaking ceremony of the Common Station for LRT1, MRT3, MRT7 and Metro Manila Subway.

Garcia said the management of MRT3 was preparing a transition team to take over the maintenance of the system.

Groundbreaking held for common station

Groundbreaking for a common station that will connect key Metro Manila railway lines was held on Friday and officials said the project — deferred and delayed for nearly a decade due to a dispute over its location — would finally be completed in 2019.

“We will finish this for the benefit of the majority,” Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said in the vernacular during ceremonies in Quezon City.

The common station will connect the Light Rail Transit-1, Metro Rail Transit-3, the upcoming MRT-7 and the just-approved Metro Manila subway.

To be built at a cost of P2.8 billion, the 13,700-square meter facility is expected to serve 478,000 passengers daily by January 2020.

The SM Group was awarded rights to the common station on September 28, 2009 after it paid the government P200 million in exchange for locating it beside, and naming it after, the SM City North EDSA mall.

A change in government when Benigno Aquino III took over from Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on June 30, 2010, however, led to a decision to relocate the station to the nearby TriNoma mall as this would reportedly lead to some P1.4 billion in savings.

"We intend to bid out the project in another three to four months and will take one year to construct. Hopefully, it will be finished within the term of the President," he said.

The government is reviewing where the "turn-back" system would be constructed. This is the area where the trains would maneuver and change directions.

The SM Group sued in June 2014 and the Supreme Court subsequently restrained the government from implementing the project on August 1, 2014. It was only when the Duterte government took over on June 30 last year that a compromise was reached on September 28.

The common station will now be located between and connect the Annex at SM City North EDSA and Landmark TriNoma malls.

Duterte's infrastructure drive: It's railing, it's pouring

A commentary

The World Economic Forum recently released its Global Competitiveness Report for 2017-2018, where it ranked 137 countries based on 12 categories. The Philippines ranked 56th overall, climbing up only one notch and still trailing behind its fellow members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). One of the 12 pillars is infrastructure, where the country's score remained the same but its rank dropped by two places. At 97th, the Philippines is well into the bottom half of all the countries covered.

What accounted for this drop? Several infrastructure sub-indicators are on the downward trend. To no surprise, these include the quality of our roads, railroads, ports, and airports. Once again, the country lagged behind its neighbors in the region. In the same report, infrastructure was cited as one of the top 5 most problematic factors for doing business in the country.

Silver lining in spending

Our infrastructure may be in dire straits, but at least the administration appears to be approaching the worsening situation with open eyes. It has committed to investing heavily in the sector to help compensate for the years of underinvestment that have plagued it. Earlier this year, the government launched its Build, Build, Build campaign, which promises to usher in a "golden age of infrastructure." As part of its plan, it intends to spend between P8 to P9 trillion in the next six years. That's almost double the proposed national budget for 2018, which was P3.7 trillion pesos. This year alone, it set aside around P850 billion, equivalent to 5.4 percent of GDP. In context, the World Bank recommends around 5 percent.

For 2018, the infrastructure budget is planned to increase to P1,097.5 billion. This is 6.3 percent of our projected GDP for next year. Fulfilling its promise to expand infrastructure investments, the Duterte administration has raised the budgets for the Department of Transportation and the Department of Public Works and Highways, two agencies primarily tasked with implementing infrastructure projects.

For example, the 2018 DOTr budget will increase by one third, or 33 percent, amounting to some P73.8 billion. Around 48 percent of the agency's budget will be spent on the proposed railways, around 24 percent will be spent on road-based transport projects, while 18.5 percent will be set aside for spending on aviation projects.

On the other hand, DPWH will get a 38 percent increase in its budget for next year, amounting to P6.43 billion, ranking second among all government agencies, next only to the Department of Education. Around 26 percent of the agency's budget is meant to be spent on projects geared toward improving the sustainability and resilience of communities nationwide—an especially important point for reducing our country's vulnerability to the hazards of climate change.

For those of us living in highly-clogged urban areas, another 25 percent of the DPWH budget will be used to reduce the congestion of traffic along our thoroughfares. Complementing this, 15 percent will be used to make our transport system more integrated and seamless. Examples of this are the Mindanao infrastructure logistics network, inter-island linkages nationwide, and connecting gaps along existing national roads. Geographically, almost half of the agency's budget will be spent for projects in Luzon, a third will be allocated for Mindanao, and the rest will be spent on projects in the Visayas region.

Alongside increasing infrastructure spending, the government has also taken strides to hasten and streamline the approval of various infrastructure projects in the pipeline, where some have stagnated since the Aquino administration. As of September 2017, the board of the National Economic Development Authority has already approved 35 projects worth some P1.2 trillion.

Varieties of financing

Unlike its predecessor, the Duterte administration has favored financing from Official Development Assistance loans over Public-Private Partnerships, arguing that the latter take longer to implement. ODAs have been a key resource for governments in implementing its priority projects. Under the Duterte administration, two-thirds of the NEDA-Board approved projects will reportedly be funded by ODA loans, amounting to P1.074 trillion.

Japan has been one of the country's longest developing partners, and for the first semester of the 2017, Japan still remains the Philippines' top ODA partner. In contrast, China is not even among our top 10 ODA partners. However, the warmer ties with China under the Duterte administration might change that sooner rather than later. The government is already negotiating with its Chinese counterpart to finance at least three projects.

Some of the administration's big-ticket ODA projects are the North and South commuter lines of the Philippine National Railway spearheaded by the DOTr. In November 2016, the NEDA Board approved the South Line Project of the PNR, worth around P299.4 billion. The government tapped China to finance the project, which will consist of a 72-kilometer commuter line between Solis-Hermosa station in Manila and Los Baños, Laguna and a 581-km long-haul line that will link Manila, Laguna, Batangas, Quezon, Albay, Camarines Sur and Sorsogon.

On the opposite end of the railway, last June 2017, the NEDA Board approved the Malolos-Clark Railway Project, the north line of the North-South Commuter Railway, which will run from Tutuban to Clark through Malolos, Bulacan. The project is worth an estimated P211.43 billion and will be financed by the Japanese. The 106-kilometer rail line will deliver passengers from one end to another in just 55 minutes. Once these projects are completed, perhaps we will no longer complain that the ride to the airport takes longer than most domestic flights. This must also be a relief for the people working at the Department of Transportation, which is moving its headquarters to Clark.

Conclusion

It's good news that the Philippines is attempting to climb out the hole that its infrastructure has been in for decades. In the short run, we should begin to turn our eyes into the implementation and operationalization of all of these projects. The future of this country deserves continued diligence from our parts to ensure that we are doing more than trapping ourselves in a debt burden.

To end, catching up with our neighbors is one thing, but transforming our transportation system into a fully functioning and integrated system is another.

More than the work of one administration, this could be a challenge for an entire generation.

Dindo Manhit is the president of think tank Stratbase Albert del Rosario Institute, a partner of Philstar.com.

http://www.philstar.com:8080/business/2017/09/29/1743884/dutertes-infrastructure-drive-its-railing-its-pouring