THE Philippine National Police (PNP) deserves credit for securing the venues of the recently concluded Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) and ensuring the safety and security of all the delegates, particularly the leaders of the 21 member-economies. The PNP served as the mainstay of the Joint Task Force Apec Security, which was given the task of implementing strict security measures, especially in the wake of the November 13 terrorist attacks in Paris, attributed to the Islamic State, that left 129 people dead and 350 more injured.
PNP Director General Ricardo Marquez, commander of the joint task force, led an inspection team to check critical areas in and around the venues a few days before the start of the event. He also checked on the equipment and state of preparedness of the security forces deployed along Roxas Boulevard and other thoroughfares near the main venue, the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in the Cultural Center of the Philippines Complex.
Marquez personally saw to it that all police personnel deployed in the area were provided ample support in terms of logistics, as well as food while on duty.
The PNP chief also issued orders for the deployment of policemen from nearby provinces to augment those from Metro Manila. More than 30,000 police, soldiers and emergency personnel took part in securing the forum. While some observers remarked that the Aquino administration should have chosen Clark or Subic as the Apec site to avoid inconvenience to the public and the disruption of school calendars and business activities, the police acquitted themselves well despite brickbats from those who were adversely affected by the strict security measures and traffic rerouting.
The government allowed militant groups to mount protest actions in areas far from the Apec venue. But the police had to contain protesters who tried but failed to break through the police line in an attempt to march toward the PICC. They warned the protesters to disperse or they would be driven away from the area. The police also used a loudspeaker to play pop songs to drown out the slogans shouted at the top of their voices by the militants.
While the police emphasized that they would thwart any attempt by the protesters to get near the Apec venue, they nevertheless exercised maximum tolerance when they met face-to-face out in the streets, which is why there were no reported serious untoward incidents.
The PNP leadership defended the heavy security and roadblocks implemented for five days as necessary since this was the protocol for guarding heads of states, which included US President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping. At the same time, police officials apologized for the inconvenience and traffic gridlocks caused by the security measures.
If Apec proceeded without any serious security or safety concerns, we have to thank the security forces that remained focused on the job at hand.
Vital road project unduly delayed
When the Aquino administration took office in 2010, it touted the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Program as its main vehicle for accelerating the country’s infrastructure development. It even listed 10 PPP projects that it said would be its priorities. Now, five-and-a-half-years later, with barely six months to go before it hands over power to the next administration, the PPP has apparently gone pffft. As of today, only one PPP project has actually been completed, with the rest still in the process of public bidding or encountering numerous legal and/or bureaucratic hurdles.
Typical of the excruciatingly slow pace of PPP implementation is the case of the North Luzon Expressway (Nlex)-South Luzon Expressway (Slex) Connector Road being pushed by the Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC). This big-ticket infrastructure project has remained in the backburner for a half-decade, no thanks to the utter failure of the concerned government agencies to get their act together.
At the outset, different agencies could not agree on whether the MPIC proposal would be carried out through a joint venture (JV) with the Philippine National Construction Corp. (PNCC)—which holds the franchise to the Nlex and Slex—or a Swiss Challenge.
The initial decision favored a JV, and an agreement was signed by MPIC and PNCC in January 2014. But this JV was later junked after a new round of government deliberations concluded that a Swiss Challenge would be the best legal option.
The Swiss Challenge was supposed to take place in the third quarter of this year, but it has been rescheduled as it must first be approved by the Investment Coordination Committee, and then confirmed by the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Board.
Yet, another hurdle now is the Department of Finance (DOF) objection to the previous stand of the Neda Board itself that the returns to the project proponent should be based on weighted average cost of capital. The DOF says the computation should be based on project internal rate of return (PIRR). If the PIRR calculation is approved, then the proposal has to go back to the Neda, and later, to the Swiss Challenge.
By belatedly raising the PIRR issue, the DOF is now a stumbling block to the immediate implementation of the long-overdue road project. This only serves to reinforce the perception that the country does not attract more investors because of government’s proclivity to change business rules in midstream.
Why is the Nlex-Slex Connector Road project important?
The P16-billion to P17-billion toll road linking Nlex-Slex will cut travel time between these two highways to just 15 to 20 minutes.
The Nlex-Slex Connector Road would address not only Metro Manila’s traffic woes but also port congestion. It will also improve transport logistics as a result of the more efficient movement of cargoes, roll-on, roll-off vessels, and passengers in and out of the ports in Manila. With the reduced travel time, it will encourage businesses to take their cargoes to the alternative ports in Batangas and the Subic Freeport.
The Connector Road would also enhance connectivity between international airports and seaports, including the Subic Freeport by way of the Nlex-Slex (Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway) route, the Batangas Port via Slex, and the Clark International Airport to Ninoy Aquino International Airport, and improve linkages between the key growth areas of Metro Manila, Central Luzon, North Luzon and the Clark-Subic corridor.
Under the original unsolicited proposal that MPIC submitted to the Aquino administration in 2010, this was supposed to be an P18-billion four-lane elevated expressway that will be 13.4 kilometers long connecting Nlex from its Balintawak, Quezon City, entrance to the Makati City entry of the Metro Manila Skyway 3.
But due to project design changes and regulatory delays, the Connector Road will now be built over the Philippine National Railways tracks from Circumferential Road 3 in Caloocan City to the Polytechnic University of the Philippines in Santa Mesa, Manila.
The project price was initially reduced to P11 billion because its length was cut to 8 km. With the delays and the project redesign resulting from the Neda Board’s approval earlier this year of the North-South Railway Project, the project cost is estimated at P16 to P17 billion.
The Connector Road project could still achieve its revised completion target of 2019 or 2020 if it is approved before yearend. But that’s not likely as the MPIC proposal would still have to go through the mandatory process that could take as long as 90 days to finish. Thus, the awarding date could be in early 2016.
E-mail: ernhil@yahoo.com.
4 comments
When Noynoy heard that there were complaints about his PPP programs his response was to sign new PPP projects. He completely disregarded the delays that were plaguing the other projects and went with the action that would give him (and by extension, Mar Roxas) the most publicity.
I suspect that the NLEX-SLEX connector met with disfavor with Noy because it was conceived during the term of his hated predecesor. It should be mentioned that the Chairman of that moribund NEDA is none other than Noynoy Aquino. Even after Metro Pacific quickly agreed to the Swiss Challenge NEDA/Aquino sat on the approval and moved only when Frank Drilon got stuck in traffic on his way to Baguio.
In the five-and-a-half years of Aquino’s administration, all he has to show for in the way of PPPs is four measly kilometers of the Daang Hari Expressway. Daang Matuwid is nothing but a a hash of incompetence, hypocrisy and criminal inefficiency.
You know Pnoy, usually answers dumb statements without knowing the facts first and his advisers know that he can be easily lured to say anything they tell him. Let this issue be heard among voters. Roxas doesn’t deserve to continue their venomous scheme of Daang Matuwid. The future development of the Philippines depends on major infrastructures especially the NLEX-SLEX connector. It will truly ease the burden of Metro Manila traffic.
Nlex-Slex Connector Road by MPIC still experiencing its delay on the part of the said government agencies that is being handled by Noynoy. This infrastructure project remains stuck after encountering five and a half years of public bidding and bureaucratic hurdles from the Aquino’s administration. The PPP project cannot pursue its goal of enhancing connectivity between international airports & seaports , attract more investors and address Metro Manila’s traffic because of the corrupt and incompetent leaders.
The traffic in C5 all day and all night is majorly caused by the trucks trying to make it on time, avoiding truck ban time schedule. Even if it’s 12midnight, you can see trucks lining up in C5 and ordinary commuters are affected because of this. This NLEX-SLEX connector will certainly ERASE that from the picture and I can just imagine how smooth traffic is in C5.