The Congressional Oversight Committee on Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines chaired by Rep. Cesar Sarmiento (Lone District, Catanduanes) on Wednesday continued deliberations on the Bulacan airport project proposal of the San Miguel Holdings Corporation.
Jun Pangilinan, OIC of the Air Transportation Division, Department of Transportation (DOTr) said that he has to be very wary in explaining the status of the project without revealing the details of the proposal because it will soon be subjected to a Swiss challenge.
“Medyo careful po kami dito because even the slightest information on the content of the proposal might be used by any Swiss challenger to have an advantage over the proposal at hand,” explained Pangilinan.
Swiss challenge is a bidding process, often used in public projects, when a public authority which has received an unsolicited bid for a project publishes the project details of the bid and in turn invites other interested parties to match or exceed it.
“Kung may mag-Swiss challenge ba, on the same location or some other location?” Chairman Sarmiento asked.
Pangilinan said that as much as possible it should be in the same location. “Without prejudice to the final outcome of the criteria that we are developing, pwedeng maglagay lang ng certain radius, anywhere within a certain radius,” replied Pangilinan.
Meanwhile, Rep. Edgar Mary Sarmiento (1st District, Samar), inquired about the design in relation to the Swiss challenge. “Floor area ba ang pag-uusapan? [How about] cost and capacity?” he asked.
According to Pangilinan, a minimum performance standard criteria set by the DOTr has to be hurdled. The capacity and the minimum performance standard (or better) than what was submitted by the original proponent is of utmost importance rather than the similarity in the facade.
Pangilinan said that on April 25, 2018 the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) board confirmed the Investment Coordination Committee’s (ICC) endorsement of the project subject to the resolution of pending issues. On May 9, 2018, DOTr conveyed to the proponent, San Miguel Holdings Corporation, the decision of the NEDA board and requested for the submission of joint and several liability agreements by SMC and their parent company. On May 31, DOTr forwarded the revised concession agreement (CA) as well as the Risk Allocation Matrix (RAM) submitted by San Miguel to NEDA and the Department of Finance (DOF) for review.
Currently, DOTr is drafting the needed terms of reference (TOR) for the conduct of Swiss challenge on the solicited proposal while they wait for the completion of the review of the CA and RAM by the NEDA and DOF. Any changes or comment by DOF will be inputed by Transportation Department to the TOR. The TOR is the bidding document wherein all the requirements and parameters are contained and to be complied by any Swiss challenger.
“Dun po sa pag-submit ng project proposal, or itong airport proposal, kumpleto po ba to or just a concept?” Rep. Gavini Pancho (2nd District, Bulacan) asked. Pangilinan explained that based on the records that he has seen, the project proposal has been acknowledged as complete. As required under the law, the project proposal, the business case as well as the draft concession agreement are in place said Pangilinan.
Pancho proceeded to ask if the design proposal was also present. “Yung design, Sir, it may not be yet on the detailed design. But rather this is parang concept pa lang or yung general master plan, yung size,” answered Pangilinan.
“Sana po makita din namin dito yung accessibility ng Bulacan sa papuntang Pampanga, papuntang Metro Manila para makita po natin. Kasi at the end of the day, ang magsusuffer pa rin po nito [ay] yung mga pasahero nung mga eroplano,” Pancho expressed.
He said that the location should also be given consideration in the making of a project proposal especially if the area of interest is prone to flooding. According to him, the making and approval of a concept should not be taken lightly.
“Kung saka-sakali po, hindi po ba kasama dun pati kung ano yung development na gagawin nila? Nakasubmit rin po ba yung total number of hectares na in-acquire ng SMC na ide-develop nila para sa airport? At ilan po yung required na total hectares para sa paggawa ng airport?” inquired Pancho.
According to Pangilinan, SMC designed conceptually and submitted a proposed size commensurate to the anticipated demand. He said that Pancho’s concern will come later on and addressed in the preparation of the detailed engineering design, the appropriate stage wherein all the stakes will be discussed in details.
“Yung airport planning and development, ganun naman po eh. So concept muna, tapos gagawa ng general master plan, then yung detailed [plan] of which will be undertaken later on wherein all the engineering solution to any impact, to any possible problems that may be encountered will be addressed in the detailed engineering design,” explained Pangilinan.
Pancho is very particular on the matter because of the recent flooding in Bulacan. “Kung may airport po tayo jan at naka-lubog ang Bulacan, paano po magiging operational ang airport ?” Pancho asked. He further explained that it is important that the committee is assured that the other areas, municipalities and cities in Bulacan will not sink in floodwater because of the reclamation that will happen. “Magtataas po tayo sa area na yan. So definitely yung dating daluyan ng tubig mawawala po yan, lilipat dun sa mas mababang area,” he added.
SMC has already identified and considered different access roads to the airport, said Pangilinan. In fact, an additional access will be developed by SMC, aside from the existing one.
“Kasama po ba sa pagpaplano ang local officials ng Bulacan? Or pagkaganyan po ay yung mga proponents lang po at yung agency ang nag-uusap?” Pancho clarified.
“Isn’t it logical that before you approve an unsolicited proposal, you also have to involve the local government units (LGUs)? Because once it will be considered and there will be an opposition from the LGUs, [there is] high probability that the project will never push through,” Sarmiento also said.
Sarmiento held that major development projects involve major land area thus, LGUs which are the representation of Bulacan itself should be well informed of these developments. He said that he is pro-development however, there are many restrictions to take into consideration and comply with when constructing airports.
Meanwhile, Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) Center Dir. Joseph Manalo addressed the query on the detailed engineering design of the Bulacan airport project. For PPP projects in general, the detailed engineering design will come later during the implementation phase. What is approved and bidded-out in the approval process are minimum performance specifications and standards. “Eto po yung mgaoutput and key performance indicators that we want. The specific design would come later on because it will be the winning bidder who will design that,” Manalo clarified.
Sarmiento believes that environmental study on airport construction should come first before any unsolicited proposal could be accepted. “At the end of the day, PPP is going to be useless,” said Sarmiento.
According to Manalo, before the project is implemented or before construction starts, proponents are required to secure an Environmental Compliance Certificate from DENR. Without the permit, the proponents will not be allowed to implement their proposal, no matter what the design is.
Rep. Roger Mercado (Lone District, Southern Leyte) inquired about the possible effects to NAIA, if the construction of the proposed Bulacan airport will push through.
Eddie Monreal, General Manager of the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) said that the policy of the government right now is multi-airport. “Let the market forces dictate,” he added. Monreal said that eventually, when Bulacan airport is finished and fully operational, it will compete with other airports.
“Considering that we are looking for a viable airport to cater to our domestic and international passengers, is it not viable if we will just fully develop the Clark International airport rather than put up so many airports along the way?” Mercado asked.
Monreal said that this is an option. However, because there is no government mandate, it is left to the discretion of the private proponents to evaluate whether construction of airports is feasible or revenue generating for them.
Rep. Mercado said that he disagrees with Monreal’s opinion in a sense that the government should be in the forefront of policy-making. He said that it should not be left to the private sector. The policies should be determined first and then comes the implementation. “Are you willing to transfer the operation of the airport from the present Parañaque-Pasay airport to Clark?” asked Mercado.
Monreal reiterated that the policy of the government is multi-airport. So whether to move to the new Bulacan airport, MIAA leaves it up to the airlines to make the decision to operate in particular areas.
Others present in the meeting were Rep. Rodel Batocabe (Party-list, AKO BICOL) and resource speakers from the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, Civil Aeronautics Board, Governance Commission for GOCCs, Office of the Government Corporate Counsel, Office of the Solicitor General, Mactan Cebu International Airport Authority, and Clark International Airport Corporation. | Novel Paller
