Ombudsman finds probable cause to charge ex-Transportation Chief Abaya, 16 others over anomalous MRT deal

The Ombudsman has found probable cause to charge former Transportation Secretary Jun Abaya over the alleged anomalous P4.2-billion MRT-3 maintenance contract.

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales on Monday also found three Transportation undersecretaries and a number of officials in violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. Private respondents from maintenance provider Busan Universal Rail, Inc. were also included in the charge list.

Abaya, ex-DOTC officials face graft rap over MRT-3 maintenance contract 

The Ombudsman's Special Panel of Investigators said in October 2014 and January 2015, the Transportation Department conducted two biddings for the train system's three-year maintenance service contract. It said there was failure of bidding in both events as nobody submitted bids.

This is a developing story.

Japan to extend P18.4-B soft loan for MRT 3 rehab

The Japanese government has committed to extend to the Philippines 38.1 billion yen (about P18.4 billion) for the rehabilitation of the Metro Rail Transit Line 3, according to the Department of Finance.

This is on top of the financing assistance it is extending for other big-ticket infrastructure projects, the DOF added.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said that in last week’s Fifth Philippines-Japan Joint Committee on Infrastructure Development and Economic Cooperation in Tokyo, Japanese officials had expressed their government’s intention to extend indicative official development assistance (ODA) loan of 38.1 billion yen for the MRT 3 project.

Japan is also set to provide a supplemental loan of 4.37 billion yen for the second phase of the New Bohol Airport Construction and Sustainable Environmental Protection Project, subject to the Philippine and Japanese government approval.

Officials of the two countries also confirmed the updated list of projects being pitched for financing by the Philippines: the P211.4-billion Philippine National Railways (PNR) North 2 Project; P124.1-billion PNR South Commuter Line; P10-billion Road Network Development Project in Conflict-Affected Areas in Mindanao, and the Pasig-Marikina River Channel Improvement Project.

During the meeting jointly led by Dominguez and Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia for the Philippine side and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga and special adviser to the Cabinet Shigeru Kiyama for the Japanese side, the officials “reaffirmed their commitment toward the partial operability of the first phase of the Metro Manila Subway Project by May 2022, subject to the progress of the measures that need to be carried out to deal with various concerns, such as land acquisition and relocation.

In March, the Philippine government and the Japan International Cooperation Agency signed a 104.5-billion yen or P51.3-billion loan to jump-start the construction of the country’s first subway system.

While the Metro Manila Subway Project Phase 1 is projected to cost P356.9 billion, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe earlier expressed intention to possibly lend up to 600 billion yen or about P294.8 billion under the Japan-Philippines Joint Statement on Bilateral Cooperation for the Next Five Years issued last October.

The 36-kilometer subway, which will connect Mindanao Avenue in Quezon City and Food Terminal Inc. in Taguig City, with a spur line to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, would be the biggest Philippine infrastructure project to be funded by Japanese official development assistance.

The subway would be completed by 2025.

For the PNR North 2 and South Commuter Line projects being eyed for cofinancing with the Manila-based multilateral lender Asian Development Bank, the two sides “agreed to continue the trilateral consultations,” which the DOF said were aimed at “[firming] up strategies and ways on how to efficiently implement the two PNR projects.”

“We are targeting to sign the exchange of notes for both projects in November. We will also exert efforts to achieve the challenging goal of making the North rail section partially operational by 2022,” Dominguez said.

Pinning my hopes on MMDA’s smart plan

WAITING for a ride home for three hours on three consecutive days last week make me think about looking for a job near my residence. After getting a ride, it still took me 2.5 to three hours to reach home. And that did not include 1.5 to two hours of commute from home to work in the morning.

Having to live with four to six hours of precious time wasted in daily commute is quite horrible. Heavy rains that fell during rush hours last week made commuting in Metro Manila more frustrating than in previous days because of flash floods that rendered major roads impassable.

Chairman Danilo Lim of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said the problems we are experiencing started 40 years ago and is made worse by the lack of foresight of one administration after another.

At a forum last Tuesday organized by The Manila Times at Conrad Hotel in Pasay City, Lim presented an ambitious plan to make Metro Manila a “smart city” like the highly urbanized Tokyo in Japan and Seoul in South Korea.


Lim said MMDA has identified the following problems that aggravate the traffic situation in Metro Manila:

– Clogged roads and sidewalks
– Infrastructures encroaching the streets
– Illegally parked vehicles
– Undisciplined road users
– Inconsistent, poorly designed and insufficient transport infrastructure
– High volume of vehicles
– Poor urban planning

The problem areas enumerated, I noticed, did not include weak enforcement of traffic rules and corrupt traffic enforcers who allow vendors and hawkers to occupy not only sidewalks but also the outer lanes of major roads in exchange for money.



Lim may have to go to Quiapo incognito, preferably on a Friday, when more people hear mass at the church. He should observe the traffic enforcers there who allow vendors to encroach the outermost lane while private vehicles occupy up to the second lane, leaving only two lanes passable.

The “smart city” plan calls for integrated policies, programs and services among all 16 cities and one municipality composing Metro Manila, as well as its neighboring towns. Integrating the policies of Metro Manila LGUs alone will be a herculean task.

The vision is to install smart infrastructures to monitor flood, landslide, fire, and accidents and warn communities. These infrastructures would enable authorities to come up with situational analysis based on gathered data in order to deliver timely response to problems.

Lim candidly admitted that the plans may seem ostentatious and inconceivable. It is ambitious, indeed, but, at least, the MMDA is starting somewhere. As the saying goes, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

Last May 31, the MMDA hosted a forum on “Intelligent Traffic System and Smart City Components with focus on the wonders of the Intelligent Transport System (ITS).” This was ostensibly designed “to help the nation’s capital ease its traffic situation and how people can get advanced facilities to improve their way of life.”

Given its limited manpower and resources, the MMDA promises to provide Metro Manilans better service through intensified enforcement of laws and upgrading of equipment, said Lim, a retired Army general. He said new roads are being constructed to catch up with the backlog of many years.

It felt good for about 30 minutes to be transported to another world while looking at Lim’s power point slides showing an animated presentation of Seoul’s comprehensive and integrated traffic system.

However, less than an hour later, it was back to reality. I was stuck for 30 minutes in traffic on Libertad going to the LRT station. And in the next three consecutive days, I went home late because it took me much longer than in previous days to get a ride home and travel from Intramuros to Old Balara in Quezon City.

During my backbreaking jeepney rides, I just keep hoping that when the MRT-7 project is completed in two years, it will be integrated with LRT-1 and MRT-3 to significantly ease my commuting time. While I believe that the MMDA’s smart plan is too ambitious, I still entertain the possibility that it can be done, but we all have to do our share.

DM Consunji eyeing Japanese partner for NSCR civil works bid

By Arra B. Francia, Reporter

DM CONSUNJI, Inc. is currently in talks with a Japanese partner to form a consortium that will bid for the construction contract for the North-South Commuter Rail (NSCR) traversing Malolos to Tutuban.

DM Consunji Chairman Isidro A. Consunji said he will be flying to Japan on Tuesday to continue ongoing discussions with a Japanese firm for a project involving the installation of the railway’s civil works and system.

“I think the Japanese are serious kasi naglabas na sila ng (because they prepared) bid documents… Kailangan may (There is a need for a) local counterpart,” Mr. Consunji said during a briefing over the weekend.

The $2.88-billion NSCR — running from Malolos, Bulacan to Tutuban, Manila — will be funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency through official development assistance loans.

Mr. Consunji said the Japanese company has already shown the engineering design and specifications of the railway, noting the difficult part is convincing the Japanese that a local firm can handle such a large project.

“One of the issues is: can a Filipino company handle a project this big? Pero ang Pilipino madali naman mag-scale up pag malaki ang trabaho. Hindi naman mahirap (But for Filipinos, it is easy to scale up if it is a big job. It’s not hard),” he said.

The NSCR is the first phase of the North-South Railway Project, spanning Metro Manila to Albay. The entire railway will consist of four tracks, the first of which connects Malolos, Bulacan to Tutuban, Manila. The second phase will link Tutuban to Los Baños, Laguna. The Malolos-Clark railway will be connected to the Tutuban-Malolos portion, while the fourth phase will connect Los Banos, Laguna to Legazpi, Albay.

Mr. Consunji expects the government to tap various contractors for different phases of the project to speed up its completion.

The NSCR, which will use electric and high-speed technology, is expected to service up to 100,000 passengers per hour. In comparison, the Light Rail Transit has a capacity of around 20,000 passengers per hour.

The project aims to ease congestion in Metro Manila, with the 37.6 kilometer-Malolos-Tutuban line expected to cut travel time from two hours to 35 minutes.

“That’s a very big change in Metro Manila. We should aim for that to happen,” Mr. Consunji said, calling the project a “game-changer” for transportation in the Philippines.

Should the DMCI consortium secure the contract, Mr. Consunji said it would take three years to complete the project.

The executive further added there will be no right of way issues since the company will use the line of the Philippine National Railway.

“Walang right of way issue, kaya ang laki ng chance it can happen (There is no right of way issue, so there’s a big chance it can happen),” Mr. Consunji said.

The NSCR is one of the flagship projects of the current administration’s infrastructure program called “Build, Build, Build.” In December last year, the Department of Transportation awarded the consulting contract for NSCR to a Japanese consortium led by Oriental Consultants Global.

DM Consunji is part of diversified engineering conglomerate DMCI Holdings, Inc. The listed company’s net income rose 5% to P4.3 billion during the January to March period of 2018, lifted by an 8% climb in revenues to P20.3 billion. The company was affected by unplanned outages from its power business during the period, which was offset by higher coal prices.

Japan commits P20.6 B loan for Phl infra

The Japanese government has expressed its intent to provide about ¥42.47 billion (P20.6 billion) worth of funding support for two of the Duterte administration’s infrastructure projects, the Department of Finance (DOF) said over the weekend.

In a statement, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez said Tokyo has committed an indicative loan amount of ¥38.1 billion for the Manila Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Line 3 Rehabilitation Project and another supplemental loan amounting to ¥4.37 billion for the second phase of the New Bohol Airport Construction and Sustainable Environmental Protection Project.

Japan may lend $346M for MRT-3

JAPAN is considering a 38.101 billion-yen (about $346 million) official development assistance (ODA) loan for the rehabilitation of Metro Rail Transit (MRT)-3, and an additional 4.37 billion yen for the ongoing construction of the New Bohol Airport.

The Department of Finance (DoF) said in a statement over the weekend that Japan has expressed its intention to provide the new loan packages during the fifth meeting of the Philippines-Japan Joint Committee on Infrastructure Development and Economic Cooperation on June 20 in Tokyo.

“Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said that during the 5th meeting of the Philippines-Japan Joint Committee on Infrastructure Development and Economic Cooperation, Japanese officials expressed their government’s intention to provide indicative official development assistance (ODA) loan financing of about 38.1 billion yen for the MRT Line 3 Rehabilitation Project and an indicative supplemental loan of some 4.37 billion yen for the second phase of the New Bohol Airport Construction and Sustainable Environmental Protection Project ‘subject to the necessary Philippine and Japanese Government approval processes,’” the DoF statement read.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, about twice as many trains in the 17-kilometer railway should be operational by 2022 after the rehabilitation period.

The Department of Transportation (DoTr) said the Philippine and Japanese governments started negotiations and feasibility studies for the MRT rehabilitation in January, after both parties exchanged notes on the ODA terms.

Meanwhile the new ODA loan for Phase 2 of the New Bohol Airport — which is expected to be completed this month — will meanwhile cover the increase of construction costs due to “the subsequent large currency exchange rate fluctuations and other factors.”

This will supplement the 10.7 billion-yen loan Japan provided in 2013.

Both loans will have an interest cost of 0.1% per annum, payable in 28 years with a 12-year grace period, and will require the participation of Japanese contractors.

Both countries also firmed up the proposed pipeline of infrastructure projects to be built with Japanese assistance.

These include the: Malolos-Clark Philippine National Railways (PNR) North 2 Project; the Tutuban-Laguna PNR South Commuter Line; the Pasig-Marikina River Channel Improvement Project; and the Road Network Development Project in Conflict-Affected Areas in Mindanao.

“We are targeting to sign the Exchange of Notes for both projects in November 2018,” Mr. Dominguez said. “We will also exert efforts to achieve the challenging goal of making the North rail section partially operational by 2022.”

“Both sides will continue to have consultations at the technical working level to accelerate implementation and address challenges for the railway projects,” he added.

Both parties also reported the progress of ongoing projects such as the land acquisition and relocation of utilities for Metro Manila Subway Phase 1.

The Philippines and Japan also agreed to explore further cooperation in urban development projects in Cebu and Davao, particularly in the areas of information and communications technology, energy, agriculture, environment, public safety, and disaster prevention.

Both countries signed the Letter of Intent for Technical Cooperation between the Department of Energy (DoE) and the Japan Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry on the Action Plan on Electric Power, which aims to help resolve issues plaguing the Philippine power sector, such as the need to improve generation efficiency and electrification rates.

They also signed the amended joint venture agreement between the Bases Conversion and Development Authority and the Surbana Jurong Group, which “restates their commitment” to develop New Clark City.

According to the DoF, there are about 12 Japanese ODA projects “already delivered” since the new administration took over.

Mr. Dominguez and Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia led the Philippine delegation, while led by Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga and Shigeru Kiyama, the special advisor to the Cabinet, represented Japan.

“This is now our fifth meeting since March 2017 and it is evident that our frequent meetings are beginning to bear positive results. Indeed, our commitment and efforts to fast-track loan processing and project implementation are gaining headway,” Mr. Dominguez told the Japanese delegation.

“As a result of these high-level meetings, our various agencies have been coordinating regularly to implement our agreed and joint actions to facilitate and hasten project implementation,” he added.

Mr. Suga said: “This joint committee has been (convening) for the important plan in developing multi-layer bilateral cooperation since we discussed cooperation in various areas such as traffic and transport infrastructure problems, the Metro Manila Subway project, peace and development in Mindanao, safety and counter-terrorism measures and information and technology.” — Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan