Not duplicate, but only 2 separate C-5 outlays

TWIN OUTLAYS: Sen. Ping Lacson was shooting from the hip when he rode into town screaming about “double appropriations” for a “Road to Nowhere” after seeing two similar entries in the budget pertaining to a C-5 public works project.

The policeman-turned-senator must have been so enamored with his earlier “Bridges to Nowhere” exposé — which scored points against Malacañang — that he quickly used the same tag when his aides found two P200-million budget outlays for the same road.

Learning that Senate President Manny Villar supports the project linking the North Luzon Expressway to the South Luzon Expressway and to the coastal road in his bailiwick, Lacson insinuated that Villar stood to gain from it as in most pork barrel transactions.

That stung Villar. While he admitted favoring the extension of the C-5 Road to the south and seeking more funds for it, he vehemently denied he would get any commission from it.

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JUMPY SOLON: In the sidelines, meanwhile, a jumpy senator close to Lacson called the brouhaha “corruption” and demanded the resignation of Villar as Senate president.

“To me, this is a major of corruption in the Senate,” the senator said. “This has to be investigated but since all fingers point to Senator Villar, I have asked him to resign because there is not only a crisis of confidence, there is a crisis of leadership.”

Villar shrugged that off, saying that a revamp is a continuing possibility in a chamber populated with independent spirits. If his detractors have the number, he added, they could take the Senate leadership.

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TWIN COMPONENTS: But as far as we can gather, there appears to be no “double appropriation.” There is merely a request for another amount, which happens be also P200 million, for another portion of the “Alignment of the C-5 Road” project.

In fact, aside from the two P200-million outlays requested, some P3.7 billion more would still be needed to complete the project well beyond the term of President Gloria Arroyo that ends in 2010.

Manuel Bonoan, a senior undersecretary of the public works department, has clarified that the two similar outlays were for two different components of the same C-5 extension project — the SLEx flyover and the Manila-Cavite coastal road.

Officials said the flyover is a 300-meter, four-lane structure to be built in front of the SM shopping mall on Sucat Road in Parañaque. The other component is an 800-meter, six-lane roadway in Las Piñas.

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WHAT NOWHERE?: Started early this year, the flyover is scheduled to be completed next year. When that is done, work on the roadway will begin. Hence the request for another P200 million, an amount that just happens to be the same as that for the flyover.

The interconnection of the NLEx, the SLEx and the coastal road — all major, heavy-volume routes — is intended to decongest them, facilitate traffic and spur development in the areas they serve, including cities and provinces south of Manila.

Parañaque congressman Roilo Golez, House senior deputy minority leader, said the extension project has been part of the C-5 master plan for more than 10 years.

He said it would connect the first and second districts of Parañaque to Las Piñas and Cavite to the south, and to Makati, Taguig, Pateros, Pasig, Quezon City and other places to the northeast.

How can that be a “road to nowhere”? he asked.

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VILLAR REACTION: In the Senate, a beleaguered Villar said:

“I categorically deny any participation in the alleged erroneous appropriation in the 2008 national budget. I strongly detest the insinuation that I pocketed public money in the construction of the C-5 extension road from the South Luzon Expressway to Sucat in Parañaque City.

“As a public official, one of my advocacies is the improvement of road systems to improve the traffic situation in Mega Manila to spur economic progress. People will greatly benefit from faster delivery of basic goods and services.

“I believe this is a worthy endeavor as an efficient and rationalized road network is one of the fundamental requirements in improving commerce.

“For one, the Las Piñas-Muntinlupa-Laguna-Cavite link road, more popularly known as Daang Hari, benefited thousands of commuters and ushered in major development in many areas of Southern Luzon.

“The 42-km stretch C5 road is certainly not a road to nowhere as this links the Coastal Road to the SLEX. This will greatly benefit the people in the South of Metro Manila, especially the residents of Cavite.

“I have long advocated for transparency and accountability in government and I have no intention of destroying my reputation as a public servant and as an entrepreneur with involvement in any financial impropriety.

“I have made known my intention to run for President in 2010 and I anticipate that this will open the floodgates to attacks. I intend to pursue this on a platform of good governance and meaningful reforms in our political system, including an honest-to-goodness crusade against corruption.

“I will not taint my good name at this stage with involvement in financial shenanigans.

“I am open to any inquiry that will be initiated in the Senate if only to sustain our efforts to promote transparency in government.”

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OPEN SEASON: But even with all that explanation that sounds rational, we can expect Lacson — who has also made known his desire to become president — to keep punching and to widen the scope of his sleuthing.

Although a bit early, obviously the campaign season for the 2010 presidential elections has begun.

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