Friday, September 10, 2021
Thursday, September 9, 2021
Duterte's Dream, Continuity and Building our Legacy
First of 2 parts
Dreams set the foundation for your life. You first dream about what you want to achieve in your life. Then you work on them to make it come true.
– Deepak Rajpal
EARLY in my childhood, I dreamed of becoming an engineer. Some people dream of becoming doctors, architects, and builders while others dream of entering into business. Dreams inspire us to reach a goal, a vision, or something we aspire for. My dream to become an engineer was personal, and to accomplish this dream, I prepared hard and focused on my dream. Eventually, I finished an engineering degree, and here I am.
I was fortunate to work with a good friend, lawyer Alex Lacson, who is the author and founder of Kabayanihan Foundation. Our group believed in the power of small steps and the importance of building Our Dream Philippines, and how and why Filipinos should be encouraged to dream big not only for themselves and their families but also for our country. I believe that if we dream to succeed personally, we also need to dream together, as Filipinos, to build a better Philippines.
Duterte vision
When President Rodrigo Roa Duterte (PRRD) became President in 2016, he shared his dream and vision for the Philippines - "a comfortable life for all Filipinos." Providing a comfortable life is not an easy task for any country, especially for a developing country like ours. However, let us take a look at what has been done by the Duterte administration since 2016 - from the war against drugs, crime and corruption, to the legislation on free health care and education and the Build, Build, Build infrastructure program.
Landmark laws have already been passed and are now providing comfort for the Filipinos. These include the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, Increase in Base Pay of Military and Uniformed Personnel in the Government, Universal Health Care, and Malasakit Centers.
Legislation related to building a comfortable life is easier to implement and act upon unlike infrastructure, such as Build, Build, Build projects, which are complicated, need a lot of approval across different government agencies, and take years to implement. However, with plans and implementation from past administrations, several infrastructure projects have been completed thus far, such as the P2.2-billion Urdaneta City Bypass Road, TPLEx-Luzon Spine Expressway Network, NLEx Harbor Link and extension, Metro Manila Skyway Stage 3, Clark International Airport Expansion Project Phase 1, LRT-2 East Extension (Metro Manila to Rizal) and MRT-3 Rehab, among others.
Difficult as it may seem, the completion of other Build, Build, Build projects is within reach. Some of the projects to be completed from 2022-2028 include the PNR NSCR project, LRT-1 Cavite Extension project, MRT Line 7, Unified Common Station, Mega Manila Subway, Mindanao Rail Tagum Digos Segment, and PNR South Long Haul. These are some of the projects planned before and during President Duterte's administration that we look forward to seeing being continued by the next administration.
Need for continuity
In my opinion, six years is too short a time for a good president, and the continuity of leadership is important in the implementation of plans and programs. The United Arab Emirates would not be the modern and prosperous UAE it is today if the foundations laid down by its founding father, Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, had not been sustained by his son, the current president of UAE and Emir of Abu Dhabi, Sheik Khalifa bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who assumed as successor in 2004.
History will likewise show some critical projects that could have been beneficial for the Filipinos but were discontinued due to differences in vision or dreams for our country. To name a few, projects like the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant and the Parañaque Spillway of President Ferdinand Marcos were scrapped and deferred by the Corazon Aquino administration; the Clark Expo (formerly Expo Pilipino) of President Fidel Ramos was scrapped by President Joseph Estrada; and the Laguna Lake Rehabilitation Project and the Makati subway loop, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's projects, were shelved during President Benigno Aquino 3rd's administration. These projects were well studied and could have done a lot to improve the quality of life of the Filipinos. This is what happens if there is no continuity of leadership. Projects which could be beneficial to the "comfortable life for the Filipinos" will and "might" be discontinued. Thus, continuity is important; it will provide fewer constraints, more flexibility, and coordination across administrations.
An example of continuity of leadership is Davao City. As the president of the Philippine Councilors League, who has served both under then Davao City Mayor Rodrigo "Digong" Duterte and incumbent Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio (CMI), councilor Danny Dayanghirang has said the dream of a progressive Davao is both shared by Mayor Digong and CMI.
Dr. Paul Chua, Ph.D. MNSA is an advocate of continuous learning both local and foreign. He completed "Essentials of Policy Development" at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore; "Strategic Management of Regulatory and Enforcement Agencies" at the Harvard Kennedy School; and "Leadership and Management for Integrity" at the Central European University.
Thursday, September 2, 2021
MRT 7 train cars to start arriving next week, says SMC
San Miguel Corp. (SMC) said the first batch of Korean-made train cars for the 22-kilometer Metro Rail Transit Line 7 (MRT 7) would arrive next week ahead of the project’s completion and test run in December 2022. This would involve six cars, or two train sets, from South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem, the food, drinks and infrastructure conglomerate said in a statement on Wednesday.
SMC added that more trains would be shipped in the coming months until all 108 coaches were delivered.
“The timely arrival of these brand new, high-quality trains from South Korea—known as one of the world’s best train and rail systems builders—is such a welcome development, and I believe holds a lot of significance,” SMC president Ramon S. Ang said in a statement.
“At a time when many are feeling uncertain about our country’s future because of the pandemic, this shows that the job of nation-building continues,” he added.
The MRT 7 is a P63-billion project that will link North Avenue in Quezon City to San Jose del Monte, Bulacan. It is among SMC’s biggest infrastructure projects after the P735-billion New Manila International Airport, which will rise also in Bulacan.
54% completion rate
SMC, which had tapped Korea Railroad Corp. as adviser, said the initial batch of train cars had passed inspections and factory acceptance testing.
It added that the MRT 7 had reached a completion rate of 54 percent.
Ang pointed to challenges and possible delays arising from pandemic-related restrictions and right-of-way issues. He noted, however, that these would be minimized.
“As we’ve said before, the MRT 7 project is in many ways more difficult and complex than even our recently-competed Skyway Stage 3—which in itself is an engineering feat,” he said. “This is because MRT 7 has added complexities such as electric power systems, computer and communications systems, signaling systems and automatic fare systems, among others,” he added.
Complexities
The MRT 7, which started construction in 2016, would be connected to the government’s Quezon City common station project, which would serve as a unified transit hub linking the MRT 3, Light Rail Transit Line 1 and the eventual Metro Manila subway.
Earlier, SMC reported that the manufacturing of other important equipment needed for the MRT 7, which were all done in various countries, had also been completed.
SMC said it was also expecting the delivery of other equipment related to the MRT 7’s operations. These include the automatic fare systems, communication systems, signaling systems, power supply systems, third rail, track works systems and rolling stock maintenance equipment used for the maintenance of trains.
https://business.inquirer.net/329947/mrt-7-train-cars-to-start-arriving-next-week-says-smc
Monday, August 30, 2021
Thursday, August 26, 2021
Sunday, August 22, 2021
Thursday, August 19, 2021
COVID-19 task force weighing just 2 options for Metro Manila: ECQ or MECQ
Jamaine Punzalan, ABS-CBN News
The COVID-19 task force is weighing just 2 options for Metro Manila's quarantine level starting this weekend, Malacañang said on Thursday, as authorities sought to stump a climb in coronavirus cases linked to the highly contagious Delta variant.
Home to some 13 million people, the capital region is under the strictest of 4 lockdown levels or enhanced community quarantine until Aug. 20. The inter-agency task force on Thursday will meet about the next lockdown level for Metro Manila, said Palace spokesman Harry Roque.
"Dalawang option lang naman po 'yan: mananatili ang ECQ, in which case ang tanong, meron bang pang-ayuda—o ibababa sa MECQ (modified ECQ)," said Roque, who also serves as spokesman for the task force.
(There are just 2 options: ECQ stays, in which case the question is will there be funds for cash aid—or will it be lowered to MECQ.)
President Rodrigo Duterte might deliver a national address on Friday to bare the new quarantine levels, "unless he will give authorization to have it announced earlier," Roque said in a press briefing.
Authorities aimed to keep new COVID-19 cases below 20,000 per day with Metro Manila's lockdown, he noted. The health department, he pointed out, confirmed some 11,000 infections on Wednesday.
"We seem to be on track po dahil hindi naman po sumipa beyond the projections," said Roque. "And if we continue with our planned course of action, it will always be below 20,000."
(We seem to be on track because cases did not spike beyond the projections.)
The official also noted that the utilization rate of intensive care units in Metro Manila has gone down to moderate risk.
"The figures are very encouraging as of today," he said.
https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/08/19/21/ecq-mecq-only-options-for-metro-manila-palace