CoA flags nonpayment of P333-M concession fees for rail project

By Russell Louis C. Ku

LIGHT Rail Manila Corp., which operates two of three rapid transit systems in Metro Manila, owes the government P332.9 million in concession fees, according to state auditors.

In a report released on Tuesday, the Commission on Audit (CoA) said the company had failed to pay the fees for the Light Rail 1 (LRT 1) Cavite extension project for five straight quarters through Oct. 2020.

State auditors said the concession payments for the project were supposed to be paid in two installments of P935.01 million by Oct. 2, 2014 and Sept. 12, 2015 — the signing and effective dates of the contract.

The rest of the concession payments worth P7.48 billion are to be paid quarterly starting Oct. 30, 2019.

The Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) “should immediately demand the amount which is already due,” the commission said.

In an audit comment, the LRTA said it asked the Transportation department in October to send a notice of demand against Light Rail Manila Corp.

The company had been regularly paying concession fees to the government, spokesperson Jacqueline Gorospe said in a Viber message on Wednesday. “We offset our claims with the concession fees due, which is an allowed formula in our concession agreement,” she said.

The LRT 1 Cavite extension project is a P64.9-billion public-private partnership venture that the National Economic and Development Authority board approved in Nov. 2013. It seeks to extend the existing rail network by 11.7 kilometers by adding eight stations from Baclaran to Bacoor, Cavite.

The 32-year concession contract was awarded to Light Rail Manila, a joint venture of Ayala Corp., Metro Pacific Light Rail Corp. and Macquarie Infrastructure Holdings (Philippines) Pte. Ltd.

https://www.bworldonline.com/coa-flags-nonpayment-of-p333-m-concession-fees-for-rail-project/

Gov't adviser suggests Metro Manila MECQ, localized lockdowns

A government adviser on Wednesday urged the country's pandemic response leaders to de-escalate the quarantine level of Metro Manila by a notch, coupled with localized lockdowns in areas with clustering of COVID-19 cases. 

The capital region's 13 million people returned to the toughest of 4 lockdown levels, the enhanced community quarantine, on Aug. 6. Its current ECQ status will lapse on April 20. 

The Philippines on Tuesday recorded around 10,000 new cases, down from some 14,000 new daily infections 2 days before, noted Dr. Ted Herbosa, special adviser to the National Task Force Against COVID-19. 

"Mukhang may tulong ang ating ginawang ECQ... Sana tuloy-tuloy na ang pagbaba at baka madalian ang desisyon ng IATF (inter-agency task force on COVID-19) na luwagan ang ating quarantine," he said in a televised public briefing.

(It seems that the ECQ we implemented is helping. I hope the cases will keep going down and it might make it easier for the IATF to loosen our quarantine.) 

Government has to balance public health with potential job losses and hunger, Herbosa said. 

"Kung opinyon ko lang ang masusunod... bababa ako sa MECQ (modified enhanced community quarantine) at paiigtingin ko ‘yong mga mayor, 'yung mga LGU, ‘yong localized lockdown, testing at saka tracing para hindi lahat napapahamak," he suggested. 

(If my opinion is followed, I will go down to MECQ and direct mayors, local government units to ramp up localized lockdown, testing, and tracing so that not all areas will get in trouble.)

The IATF has yet to reach a consensus on the quarantine level, pending its assessment of data, Malacañang said on Tuesday. 

With some 1.7 million coronavirus infections and 30,000 deaths, the Philippines is battling one of Asia's worst COVID-19 outbreaks, which the highly contagious Delta variant of the respiratory disease could worsen. 

At least 12.7 million individuals are now fully vaccinated against the novel coronavirus. Government aims to immunize up to 70 million people before the year ends to safely reopen the economy. 

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/08/18/21/govt-adviser-suggests-metro-manila-mecq-shift

MMDA Chief Abalos holds press briefing on quarantine recommendation in NCR