When giants agree

There are times – and they are rare – when industry giants, expected ranged against one another, agree to work together,  because it makes better  business sense to “collaborate” than to cancel each other out.

The good news is that the issue of a common station for three metropolitan rail lines has been resolved. The implementation of the long-delayed government plan to interconnect three key light rail transit lines could now proceed.

First envisioned in 2009, the plan calls for the building of a station on the EDSA-North Avenue-West Avenue junction where two giant shopping malls are located – the SM City North EDSA and TriNoMa of the Ayala Group.

The northern terminal of MRT-3, the rapid transit system that covers the stretch of EDSA, will also interconnect with LRT-1, Metro Manila’s first light transit line, and MRT-7, a currently under construction rapid transit line that will link Quezon City to San Jose del Monte in Bulacan.

The construction of the station – now called the “Common Station” – is a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) project spearheaded by the Department of Transportation (DOTr), along with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA), SM Prime Holdings Inc. (SMPHI), Universal LRT Corporation (BVI) Ltd. (ULC), Light Rail Manila Corp. (LRMC), and North Triangle Depot Commercial Corp. (NTDCC).

ULC is a subsidiary of San Miguel Holdings Corp. that has been awarded the contract for MRT-7.

LRMC, on the other hand, holds the contract for the extension of LRT-1 to Cavite. It is a joint venture company of Metro Pacific Investments Corp’s Metro Pacific Light Rail Corp. (MPLRC), Ayala Corp’s AC Infrastructure Holdings Corp. (AC Infra), and the Philippine Investment Alliance for Infrastructure’s Macquarie Infrastructure Holdings (Philippines) Pte. Ltd. (MIHPL).

NTDCC, meanwhile, is the subsidiary of Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) that owns and operates TriNoMa.

The leadership of DOTr and DPWH has done wonders on bringing these giants to the negotiation table with a clear mandate: Work together for the common good of commuters. And so the captains of industry saw the light, and sat down with usual competitors in public bidding to truly find a “common ground” – for a “common station.” This is an “uncommon” development, if I may say so!

As you may know, the envisioned Common Station project had earlier hit a number of obstacles, which resulted in undue delay. The latest of these snags was the temporary restraining order (TRO) issued by  the Supreme Court to SMPHI, following the planned transfer of the proposed station from the front of SM City North EDSA to a site closer to TriNoMa.

The consequent collective accord of these key players in infrastructure building has created a condition leading to the lifting of the TRO earlier issued – and  would now make its way forward to proceed with the project.

A memorandum of agreement (MOA) among all the stakeholders was signed last Jan. 18 to mark the first step in making the Common Station a reality.

It is a rare – yet heartwarming sight. Signing the precedent-setting accord were Ramon S. Ang, San Miguel Corp. (SMC) president and CEO; Manuel V. Pangilinan, Metro Pacific chair and CEO; Hans T. Sy, SMPHI executive committee chair; and Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, Ayala Corp. chair.

Under the MOA, the Common Station will be built between SM City North EDSA and TriNoMa. This new site was chosen because it is nearer to more passenger destinations.

Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade said that the Common Station gives flexibility for expansion to accommodate higher passenger traffic in the future. “Most important of all, we get to move forward from the current stalemate, begin construction by the end of 2017 and have a completed and operational Common Station by the middle of 2019,” he pointed out.

The station will have three main components. Area A will have the platform and concourse for LRT-1 and MRT-3. Area B will have the two common concourses connecting Area A and Area C. It will be made up of an atrium and a secondary walkway. Area C will have the platform and concourse for MRT-7.

Based on the design stipulated in the MOA, the Common Station will be bigger than initially planned. It will have a common concourse area of 13,700 square meters, which is bigger than the concourse area of the original SM City location that was approximately 7,200 square meters, and of the TriNoMa location, which was about 2,500 square meters.

A larger concourse area is deemed crucial to the station’s design since passenger traffic is expected to sharply increase when the extension of LRT-1 to Cavite and the construction of MRT-7 to Bulacan are completed. The Common Station is expected to accommodate about 478,000 rail passengers daily by 2020.

A more spacious station will also give a chance for LRT-1 passengers to transfer to both MRT-3 and MRT-7 and vice versa easily.

It will be noted that the new Common Station design has fewer columns. It thus means it will open up the EDSA-North Avenue-West Avenue junction and allow smoother and safer traffic on the road level.

Meanwhile, the ground level of the atrium itself can accommodate a PUV-railway intermodal facility, which will significantly reduce traffic congestion in this busy portion of EDSA.

When giants stop pouncing on one another and agree to face a common challenge, expect wonders in the world of metropolitan transport!

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Another good news is that, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has released children associated with the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF) and Bangsamoro Islamic Women’s Auxiliary Brigade (BIWAB), ending the recruitment and use of children within their ranks.

This development is part of a series of ceremonies that will eventually disengage around 1,858 children who were formally or informally associated with the armed wing of the MILF. The United Nations, through its children’s agency UNICEF, facilitated this process in line with the UN-MILF Action Plan on addressing the recruitment and use of children in armed conflict in Mindanao.

According to UNICEF Philippines representative Lotta Sylwander, the UN-MILF Action Plan, signed in 2009 and extended in 2013, signifies the commitment of the MILF to end the recruitment and use of children within their ranks. The progress achieved to date is the result of the commitment and action by the MILF at the highest levels, as well as by front and base commanders. The systematic sensitisation, awareness raising and training initiatives for the BIAF and communities living in core MILF base command areas were essential pre-requisites to achieve a level of understanding and acceptance on the issue of recruitment and use of children.

“Children affected by armed conflict are some of the most vulnerable children in the world. We need not look far, right here in the Philippines children are affected by armed conflict in different ways. They can be recruited as soldiers and engaged in direct combat, or as aides with seriously harmful consequences threatening their life and well-being. Let  children be children – let them play, go to school and live healthy and happy,” says Sylwander.

The release of children associated with MILF, Sylwander adds, allows them “to receive appropriate support from government and development partners to enjoy all their rights to health, education and protection. The MILF is also bound to institute safeguards through its command structure to regularly monitor and screen troops to prevent children from associating or re-associating.”

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