RSA has good reasons to shelve airport

When Ramon Ang told reporters he is putting his proposed airport project in deep freeze for the meantime, I could sense a strong feeling of frustration on government’s lack of direction on what it wants to do for a civilized airport in lieu of NAIA. Last year, RSA sounded very sure he could build his international airport. As I recall it, he told me that by October this year he would have broken ground.

So what happened? First, DOTC banned San Miguel and JG Summit, holding companies of Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific, from bidding for the construction of a new terminal for Mactan International Airport on the ground that there is conflict of interest. That was a stupid thing to do and merely led some people to think that DOTC is just trying to eliminate competitors to Ayala and Aboitiz.

DOTC Secretary Jun Abaya said he was also surprised at the restriction imposed by his planning staff but went along with it anyway until there was an outcry. DOTC also found out that without the two, they may not have a credible bidding. These are precisely the locals who know the business. Besides government will continue to regulate, so that takes care of potential conflict of interest problems. DOTC belatedly allowed both holding companies to join other companies to bid. But it must have triggered some concerns in RSA’s mind.

Then DOTC announced it was still in the process of making a policy on the national gateway airports. This must have confirmed to RSA that government still does not know what it wants to do and it may be better for him to shelve his airport project until things clear up.

It was just as well. I had a long meeting with DOTC Secretary Abaya last Friday and he confirmed that they are indeed in the process of drafting a policy which they will present to P-Noy. According to Mr. Abaya, they are looking at four options.

The first option is to move everything to Clark. But this requires a fast train connection to Metro Manila’s business district and that is not even in the horizon right now.

The second option is to think of Clark as a long term play... put in what it needs by way of infrastructure, don’t stunt its growth but NAIA is still the main gateway.

The third option is to maximize NAIA, improve its facilities... move general aviation to Sangley within two years, get its CNS/ATM and other needed navigational aids in place so as to improve traffic management.

The fourth is go with a new airport, maybe the one RSA has in mind that is supposed to be in Naic, Cavite or consider other places like Taguig (reclaim part of Laguna de Bay) or even Talim Island within Laguna de Bay. The new airport must still be close to Manila so that NAIA can even be scuttled and sold to developers for a large sum of money that could be used to build the new airport.

The problem with RSA, Sec. Abaya said, is that he has not said anything to them officially or otherwise about his airport project. It seems it is still all in his head. But Abaya said he has heard about Naic land buying supposedly for the airport project. Abaya is from Cavite and is abreast with the latest developments or even gossips from the ground.

As a Caviteno, Sec. Abaya said, he would welcome the airport in Naic. He said that he has met RSA in social and official functions and he has never brought up the airport project to him and he has not asked him directly about it either.

My suspicion is that RSA has not completed his land buying and he is also buying time until he does. The indecisiveness of DOTC on an airport policy for the National Capital Region gave him a convenient way to back out, even temporarily. He was supposed to present his plans to P-Noy last January or so he told me and fellow PhilStar columnist Cito Beltran. I think he will unfreeze his airport project once there is a clear policy and he has bought all the land he needs.

Sec. Abaya said he welcomes such private sector initiatives even as he now has to figure out how to approach the matter of regulating such an airport that is totally financed by the private sector. I reminded him that given the difficulty of getting the government to do anything by way of having a modern terminal, he doesn’t have much of a choice but to encourage RSA on.

Indeed, Sec. Abaya and I went through a list of DOTC projects and it was clear to me that they will not be able to deliver most of the needed airport modernization projects before P-Noy bows out in 2016. Sec. Abaya is hopeful they will, but I have my doubts. I told him that one transportation expert I know has offered to give me a lavish Wagyu steak dinner if DOTC manages to inaugurate most of the rail and the major airport projects before 2016.

Let us take a look at the major ones:

Mactan-Cebu International Airport will have its bidding August or September 2013. Completion, even by Mr Abaya’s reckoning is 4Q 2016 or after P-Noy’s term.

New Bohol Airport in Panglao will have its detailed engineering study started this month, they hope to bid out in October and also completed 4Q 2016.

Puerto Princesa Airport will have its bidding next month and they hope to complete by January 2016.

The Bicol International Airport in Daraga, Albay is in legal limbo. A disgruntled bidder filed a TRO and later a mandamus so DOTC can’t proceed. Sec Abaya said he has asked a legal opinion from the Solicitor General on how they can handle it. He said he doesn’t believe they should wait until final legal resolution which may take decades. But he wants to make sure he is on a defensible legal ground if he proceeds.

Infrastructure projects are not supposed to be mired in legal problems. Albay Gov Joey Salceda is also crying out loud that the delay is stunting the growth of tourism in the Bicol region. Maybe a sense of patriotism can also be elicited from the losing bidder so that the project won’t be delayed much more.  

The Laguindingan Airport in Cagayan de Oro will be ready to open next month, Sec Abaya promised.

The capacity expansion of the Tacloban Airport will be ready by 2Q of 2014, daw.

As for NAIA 3, Sec. Abaya said it will be fully operational by December this year. He said he is going to Tokyo tomorrow to clinch the agreement with Takenaka. But the work on the structural integrity of the terminal has started already.

The night landing facilities for a dozen domestic terminals are also on stream, Sec. Abaya said. But only a handful will be completed this year. In cooperation with Tourism Secretary Mon Jimenez, Sec Abaya said they are ready to put up temporary structures to house overflow in some domestic terminals.

As for CAAP, Sec. Abaya is confident we will get our category upgrade soon... probably even this year. I reminded him that one of the US FAA problems with our system is the matter of having qualified check pilots. Using retired PAL pilots is a stop gap measure but the FAA wants a sustainable program to develop professionals to do the job.

The problem, Sec. Abaya said, is government pay scales and employment rules. Even with the exemption already secured from the Civil Service Commission, they are still having problems getting young people to train for the job. He said they are looking at outsourcing the function as the only viable solution to the problem.

The DOTC Sec. also had a lot to say about the train projects but we don’t have space for that today. I told him he has a tough job and I promised to keep close tabs on developments and constantly nag him about slow progress. I believe the problem is the DOTC bureaucracy. Sec. Abaya didn’t bring in his own set of staff and the ones left by Mar Roxas are perhaps as scared as Mar is about doing anything.

Well, they just have to get going or DOTC will just succeed in making P-Noy seem like he did nothing by way of needed infrastructure. It is not enough to be honest, to avoid legal challenges but to deliver projects that people badly need. In the end, people will say that there cannot be a Daang Matuwid if there is no daan to begin with.

Tenses

This was sent by lawyer Sonny Pulgar.

Teacher: Today we’re going to talk about the tenses. Now, if I say “I am beautiful,” what tense is it?

Student: Obviously, it’s the past tense.

Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @boochanco