In spite of the brickbats hurled at Noynoy Aquino by his detractors, I continue to believe he is sincere in his vow to carve a Daang Matuwid or Straight Path towards a reformed and resurrected Philippine government.
But are we to accept liko-liko (curves) and baku-bako (bumps) as a natural, inevitable and acceptable part of the process of reform? And what about being speed-bagal – the Manileño’s idiom for moving at an excruciatingly slow pace?
It would be unfair to heap the blame on Aquino. But, as Harry Truman bluntly put it: “The buck stops here!” The president of the country has to take the blame, even if members of his official family are the ones dropping the ball or lowering the standards to make room for hustlers and nincompoops.
When palace apologists and supporters in the JBC tried to lower the standards for nominees for Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, reportedly to get Leila de Lima on the shortlist, that didn’t look good for Aquino. And now comes another case of lowering the standards, this time with implications not only of speed-bagal but of liko-liko and baku-bako.
It appears that the LRT 1 extension southwards to Cavite will be delayed again (as my 5-year old grandson Vegas put its, “Again, again, again, again????”) because DOTC secretary (and prospective DILG chief), Mar Roxas, wants “more time to study” the proposed solution to a problem that affects millions of Metro Manila commuters day by day day by day. Again, again, again, again.
For background, the P60 billion LRT 1 extension is supposed to stretch from Baclaran to Bacoor. It would provide desperately needed relief to nearly four million residents of Parañaque, Las Piñas and Cavite. This is part of the Aquino government’s Public-Private Partnership program that envisions P500 billion for railways, toll roads, airports and other major infrastructure projects over the remainder of Aquino’s term.
Being a Parañaque resident, I know all about the torment of traveling on South Superhighway to Makati any day of the week. Multiply that torment ten times to feel the pain of those who have to cram themselves into the “hell train” and into available buses, jeepneys and assorted vehicles from the South to their places of work in Manila and Makati.
At the investors’ briefing and pre-qualification conference held last July 10, major private sector players attended. The list was an impressive testament to the concededly growing confidence in Aquino’s Daang Matuwid vow, especially with respect to big ticket government infrastructure projects (never famous for “moderated greed” in past administrations).
In attendance were Metro Pacific Investments Corp., San Miguel Infrastructure, Ayala’s Makati Development Corp., FFC Cruz and DMC. The foreign prospective investors present were Marubeni, Sumitomo, Mitsubishi, Itochu, French transportation contractors RATP Dev and Systa, as well as Ecorail and Leighton. Banks represented were Bank of the Philippine Islands, BDO Universal Bank and China Bank of retail magnate Henry Sy, Lucio Tans’s PNB Capital, Dutch financial giant ING Bank, and US-owned Citi.
With the specs having been laid out by DOTC, a deadline for submitting qualification documents was set for August 22. But, in a classic case of coitus interruptus, the DOTC announced the extension of the deadline to September 28 – just when the major players were about submit their docs.
According to Roxas, the DOTC had decided to “conduct a feasibility and engineering study on the plan to extend the LRT to Dasmariñas before making a proposal to the National Economic Development Authority.” Roxas added that it would be “more prudent” to add an extension to the extension.
That makes sense, of course. But shouldn’t that have been considered early on? Or is it too much to ask Roxas and his boys to “think ahead” (remember that classic IBM reminder to idiots?)?
But there is another reason for the postponement. The DOTC has admitted that it is “in response to the request of several prospective bidders for more time to prepare the qualification documents.”
And who are these “prospective bidders”?
One can deduce their qualifications – or lack of qualifications – by the fact that, coincidentally, the DOTC Bids and Awards Committee has decided to lower the standards for bidders with light rail operations experience.
The LRT is one of the busiest public railway systems in Asia, with an average of 600,000 commuters a day. This load is expected to increase over the years. So what has the DOTC BAC done? It has reduced the ridership requirement for the LRT 1 extension from 50 million per annum (or 100,000 commuters per day) to only 30 million per annum (or just 80,000 riders per day). Those in the know point that the numbers mean only 18% of current LRT ridership and a mere 10% of an increased future passenger load.
Which means that the torment will continue for those who will commute from South of Manila.
· Of course, by lowering the ridership requirement, low capacity light rail operators (similar to those running airport terminal-to-terminal connections) will be allowed to bid and get a piece of the action.
The major bidders are dismayed by this, not simply because of the added competition but because the lowered standards are a fiasco in the making. It’s not simply like fielding a PBA team in the NBA. It’s more serious than that. It’s risking the convenience and safety of the commuting public.
· A light rail operator, used to ferrying a small number of passengers daily, is guaranteed to be overwhelmed when the full brunt of the peak hour rush, emergency management, and service capability for emergency disruptions begin hitting the fan like s___t.
Roxas, who became the butt of jokes when he ran an electoral campaign commercial showing him driving a tricycle (remember the “padyak” spot?) may find himself being referred as having a “tricycle mentality” if he and his geniuses at the DOTC persist in allowing light rail operators to bid on one of the most important infrastructure projects of this government. Roxas may try to wash his hands of this mess when he moves to DILG, but his fingerprints will be all over it and, worse yet, Noynoy Aquino will be blamed for it.
But the question is: Why is the DOTC lowering the standards in order to allow operators who do not have the necessary capability and track record to operate, improve and overhaul the railway system? Isn’t that stupid?
Wellllll…….maybe Roxas’ subordinates at DOTC may not be all that stupid after all. In fact, they may be too wise for comfort.
Will somebody tell them to please “moderate the greed”?
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