The Philippine Online Chronicles

Recently, more than 200,000 Cavitenos staged a rally in front of the Cavite provincial capitol expressing their dismay on the scrapping of the extension of the Light Railway Transit Line 1 to Cavite. According to the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), the project was scrapped last January on the lack of time to do a groundbreaking.

Cavite Governor Ireneo “Ayong” Maliksi also expressed his disappointment over the shelving of the project. “This project is 11 years in the making. It started when I was still the mayor of Imus, then I became a congressman, and now, I’ve almost completed my term as the governor, and we are still pushing for this (project),” an emotional Maliksi told reporters.

Maliksi said that the decision of the transportation department to scrap the project, a few months before the presidential elections came as a surprise. Newspapers reports earlier quoted Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza as saying that “there’s no more time for it. The project has a gestation period of two years and there’s no more time. We decided to leave it to the next administration.”

Is this another tale of a broken promise or a case of political retaliation?

Metro to the south

The LRT south extension project (SEP) will connect the existing line southward from Baclaran to Bacoor, and will transverse the cities of Paranaque and Las Pinas in Metro Manila and reach the municipality of Bacoor in Cavite. According to the website of Light Railway Transit Authority (LRTA), it aims to extend the existing 15 kilometers LRT Line 1 system southward. It involves an 11.7 kilometer line of which about 10.5 kilometer will be elevated and 1.2 kilometer will be at-grade.

The project will include eight new passenger stations, with provision for two additional future passenger stations. A total of 64 light rail vehicles (LRVs) will be added in 2020 and 8 LRVs in 2030. It is expected to serve 800,000 passengers a day and cut travel time from Bacoor, Cavite to Monumento, Caloocan City to less than hour.

The project was estimated at USD683-million (P12.735-billion) but the LRTA revised the project cost to USD1.78-billion (P78.75-billion), attributing the increase to system enhancement over a 40-year concession period. The adjustment now includes a fleet upgrade, replacement and capacity improvements.

Last January, the DOTC said that the China Shanghai (Group) Corporation for Foreign Economic and Technological Cooperation (SFECO) was close to bagging the contract, when another interested investor, Ecorail Transport Services, Inc. of the group of construction magnate Reghis Romero, failed to finalize its joint venture agreement.

China Shanghai is a state-controlled entity that packaged a financing scheme through an official development assistance loan from China’s Export-Import Bank. On the other hand, Ecorail engages in construction, operation, maintenance, coordination and rendering of technical expertise in the implementation of railways systems.

The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) had also extended the LRTA a USD242-million (P10.890-billion) loan to expand the capacity of LRT 1 by increasing the frequency trips and adding more rolling stocks. The expansion module was substantially completed in 2007, but the project was reconstructed in September 15, 2008 with the approval of the Investments Coordination Committee.

The changes in the project increased the cost by USD1.62 billion or 20.3 percent to USD8 billion and included VAT, interest service fees and other amendments. But JBIC rejected a second request for the extension of the loan facility.

According to the LRTA website, on January 26, 2010, Cabinet Secretary Silvestre Bello III had informed the DOTC and LRTA that it was agreed upon during the 44^th National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) Board Meeting to open the project for competitive bidding and to include under the Terms of Reference (TOR) the source of funds, the burden of the national government in the financial charges, as well as the fare rate per passenger.

Last February, the LRTA constituted a Special Bids and Awards Committee in compliance with the agreement reached during the 44^th NEDA Board Meeting. Fund releases had also been made. Total Releases for the Right of Way acquisition and other preparatory works amounts to P2.358 billion Special Allotment Release Order and P2.125 billion Notice of Cash Allotment.

A case of political backlash?

According to Maliksi, the project has been planned for more than a decade and has been promised by President Arroyo time and again in her yearly State of Nation Addresses (SONA) and even during her visits to Cavite since 2001. It was also under Arroyo’s term that the implementation agreement was signed when the Maliksi entered into a memorandum of agreement with the LRTA in support of the project.

During the President’s 2009 SONA, she has given assurance that the LRT-1 SEP would be a “priority project.” Recently, while checking the progress of the LRT north extension project (connecting Line 1 with EDSA’s Metro Rail Transit system), the President revived plans to extend the overhead train line to benefit commuters from the southern outskirts of Metro Manila. She even ordered DOTC to fast-track the planned extension of LRT to Cavite province.

Maliksi further added that the DOTC and NEDA had been talking to potential contractors, had completed the studies and found that the project is “advantageous to the government.” He was worried that the shelving of the project might bring the proponents back to square one with the incoming administration.

Just before Mendoza’s latest pronouncement of the project’s deferment, different proposal from SNC Lavalin, the Shanghai Group Corporation for Economic and Technological Cooperation and R-1 Holdings Inc. had already submitted their proposals to the DOTC for evaluation and approval, but no contract has yet been signed.

Maliksi questioned the scrapping of the project pertaining to the timing. The governor claimed to be a staunch ally of Arroyo before he forged a pact with Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino, Jr., and decided to run under the Liberal Party (LP) banner in the May 2010 elections.

The governor of Cavite, whose term is ending this year, will run for a seat in Congress to represent the lone district of Imus. In an interview, he said that he stayed with GMA for the sake of the project. But now he could not be with Lakas Kampi since the Revillas are there, while Nacionalista Party is closely allied with the Remullas – both his political rivals in the vote-rich province. He even talked to former environment secretary Lito Atienza about his plans of supporting LP.

He said that the election ban on government projects should not be a reason to freeze the LRT extension project since this would be foreign-funded.

Meanwhile, Makati Mayor and Vice Presidential Candidate Jejomar Binay slammed Malacanang’s decision to shelve the Cavite rail project. He believed that it was a retaliation against local officials, who had turned against the administration.

According to his statement, it is an example of vindictive politics.

“It is clear that the fate of LRT Cavite was arrived at after a loyalty check and probably after enticing Cavite provincial leaders to shift political allegiance back to the Palace. When they said ‘no,’ the Palace retaliated by refusing to green light the project,” he said.

He further added that he met several local leaders who had complained of “unfair treatment” by the national government. Projects were reviewed through the prism of politics. Hence, projects by Arroyo’s favorites get fast-tracked, while projects of those who oppose her get derailed.

Commuters, trade affected

Cavite has blossomed into a high-growth area in the last two decades, hosting industrial zones, leisure parks and resorts, commercial centers and residential zones. The project will definitely boost trade and commerce in the Cavite province. But due to traffic condition in Cavite, which has turned from bad to worse in recent years, it choked the socio-economic growth potential of the province due to the delay of this vital infrastructure and transport project. The extension project is expected to ease traffic conditions in Cavite, particularly in Bacoor.

Travel time is also expected to lessen. At least one million commuters travel to and from Manila daily, wasting two to three hours of travel time because of road congestion. Last year, the LRT Line 1 (from Baclaran to Monumento), it carried 149.44 million passengers. The extension line to Cavite will provide convenience and at the same time will open new business opportunities for Cavite and Metro Manila.

“I do not want to attack Arroyo. But I see now why her popularity ratings are low. This is a project for the people (and it was scrapped),” Maliksi lamented.

The provincial board has approved a resolution calling for the immediate implementation of the LRT-1 SEP, while a manifesto was signed by the protesters during a rally in the Cavite provincial hall in support to implement the long overdue project.

Photo by Bikoy c/o Flickr.com. Some rights reserved.

---

Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites