Planes, trains, and automobiles

I think my first train-related entry was back in 2005, in Debating solutions to squatting, I pointed to this entry by Torn and frayed in Manila on how our country possesses “one of the most ramshackle railways in the world.” That’s putting it politely. Torn was reacting to a report by Howie Severino (and The Unlawyer also commented on it, including detailing the extremely low fares charged by the railroad).

One major problem, as recalled in Pain On The Train, was that squatters had encroached on the tracks and were, at times, hostile to train passengers. There was once a haunting post by Pulsar in 2006 (well, who says once on the Interweb, something’s forever? The blog’s gone!). Or sometimes, the problem were the passengers themselves, see Test-Riding The Metro-Tren:

But there were dreadfully more — and this was what made me uneasy and had second thoughts about using this mode of transpo on a regular basis or asking friends and family to patronize it. Dark thoughts ran in my mind thinking if I can actually still get out of this situation alive! Here we go:

Amongst the passengers in my coach were shirtless dudes who were not even drunk but were just as dangerously rowdy. Okay, to be fair, not all of them were topless. Two were wearing sando, one did not even have a footwear, and all of them did have confidently loud voices enough for anyone to understand that they are the “masters” in this place. They were huddled on two right-side doors. Some were standing and some were seated on the floor and the little steps that people use when boarding or getting off via those doors. Obviously, no one passed by those two doors. They were not just rowdy in the normal kind of kid things. They had very foul language offensive to many.

These folks were not young kids either. They were men probably in their 20s up to late 40s and they seemed to know just about every person who lived along those rail tracks as they often had a lewd or foul comment at everyone they saw. Samples? Here we go… “Hoy hostess, bihis ka na! Rampa ka ng maaga nang makarami”, or — Tangina! Nakaw ang cellphone na yan, kahapon lang”! And they most certainly elicited equally shouted responses from those they were shouting at. Some of the younger kids they teased even ran with wooden sticks or little stones attempting to catch and whack or pelt them as the train chugged along. And you guessed it, these men would run scampering towards the inner portions of the train (which was naturally a commotion that would make you panic). When kids on the ground can’t keep up with the train, these men would be back at the two doors and back to their usual shouting spree at people we passed by. I even saw two women-passengers stand up and walk further front — obviously to get away from this.

I’d be a liar if I said I was not alarmed. I was actually more than frightened! Then again, I could have been over-reacting, right?

Now hear this: As the train went a chugging slowly after that Espana Station going towards Blumentritt, a guy came walking from the front coaches who seemed to be looking for nothing but trouble. As he passed where I was seated and just about to pass the rowdy men by the door, someone shouted on top of his voice saying “o kayong lahat, ingatan nyo mga gamit nyo, yan naglalakad na yan isnatcher yan… The walking man did not even look back but shouted equally loud saying “tangina mo, hindi ako isnatcher, naghahanap ako ng masasaksak” and as he said that he lashed out a knife in mid-air. I looked at the faces of many passengers and almost all had the same facial expression — they pretended to have not heard that and they all did not look at the knife-brandishing man — and so I did not dare look at him too! This time I felt my balls were already above my forehead.

After having gone to the end part of the train, that knife-wielding man returned to the men perched by the doorway and he joined in the laughter, banter and dirty shouts at people we passed by. I clearly heard him telling the group that it was too unusual the week was almost over and he has not had a fight yet. As if to emphasize that, he said “kahit asawa ko ayaw akong patulan, nakakainip pare”!

Philippine_National_Railways.png

This is a Wikipedia map of the NorthRail and SouthRail lines of the Philippine National Railways -theoretically, at least. I happen to like trains very much (perhaps not to the extent of being a trainspotter) and really wish rehabilitating our railways will be accomplished: just getting NorthRail and SouthRail functioning will actually merely return us to where we were prior to World War II, the last major extension having been accomplished with the inauguration of the Manila-Legazpi Line in May, 1938. That still marks the last major addition to our railway network. However, Marcos’ obsession with highways had led to the deterioration of the railroad.

The result? See photos in A Ride On Philippine National Railways Part I and A Ride On Philippine National Railways Part II. See also RILES in Digital Phtographer Philippines. In response to this sad state of affairs, an ambitious program of modernization has started.

One sad side-effect of modernization, however, is the destruction of heritage sites: see Las Estaciones Ferrocarril Manila-Dagupan in the ICOMOS Philippines site.

There are some extremely informative railroad enthusiasts’ blogs out there, which combine a strong historical sense with efforts to document the rehabilitation of the Philippine National Railways. See their mother organization, Railways and Industrial Heritage Society of the Phils. (and its Reese Blog), and these enthusiasts’ blogs: Philippine Railways S.I.G., Philippine Railways, and Laguna Railways,

Courtesy of Augusto de Viana is The railways in Philippine history which, however, so compresses the most interesting years, the 20s to the 50s, as to render that section meaningless. Oh well. Viviana overlooks the ambivalence and even hostility American officials felt towards railways, since it would affect the Philippine market for automobiles (see The Colonial Iron Horse: Railroads and Regional Development in the Philippines, 1875- 1935). When autonomy was achieved, railroad development accelerated. And the policy debate on highways versus railways also began, along with still-unrealized plans such as a railroad for Mindanao (the development of Maria Cristina Fall’s hydroelectric power was originally envisioned as primarily powering the Mindanao railways: there are interesting snippets on these debates in F.B. Harrison’s diary: as an Anglophile, he was pro-railways, pointing with envy to Britain’s not altogether altruistic promotion of its own steam engine industry in its colonies; as for its biggest handiwork in that regard, here’s an interesting item on accomplishing transport reform: Things Looking Up for India’s Trains).

I remember when I was still new in the Inquirer, the President had a dinner with editors and spent much of her time discussing the Strong Republic Nautical Highway (this will be one of her lasting achievements, I think). Along the way, she discussed trains and how she wanted to eliminate the old PNR lines, and have new railroad lines simply feed the metropolis, with intra-city travel done on the LRT. At the time I remember remarking that her strong grasp of detail was one of the President’s most impressive qualities, but one little-seen by the public: just as the overall schemes fed by her grasp of detail failed to be grasped, in turn, by the public: and government is at fault for this.

Today’s Inquirer editorial, Derailed, looks at the possible permutations of the ongoing problem with NorthRail: Even as our government insists that NorthRail project to push thru the reality seems to be Gov’t scrambles to save NorthRail: China threatens withdrawal, legal suit over a situation caused by the sad reality that Northrail ‘mobilization’ ate up 23% of total loan. (Here’s a helpful Northrail timeline.)

See Target for Northrail: ‘substantial’ completion by 2010:

As things stand now, the most realistic assumption is to have a partially – or at least, substantially – completed stretch of rail road some kilometers short of the first section of the 80.2-kilometer distance between Caloocan City in Metro Manila and Clark in Pampanga.

Officials familiar with the twists and turns of the project told abs-cbnnews.com/Newsbreak that the initial goal to complete at least the first phase, or the first 32 kilometers up to Malolos in Bulacan province, is not realistic anymore…

A year since the project’s 36-month construction period kicked off in February 2007, clearing the tracks, acquiring right-of-way, and relocation works are still to be crossed out from the list of pre-construction must-do’s.

No civil works on the actual railway have commenced nor has a project design been finalized, yet the designated contractor, the Chinese National Machinery & Equipment Group (CNMEG), wanted to add almost $300 million on top of the current $421 million agreed upon and signed construction cost…

According to various sources, including correspondences from NLRC and the demand letters from CNMEG, the latter unilaterally suspended work on the Northrail in February 1, 2008, with CNMEG’s Chinese engineers returning home.

Pamintuan explained that the engineers have run out of things to do since the project design has yet to be finalized.

But that was only part of the story. Apparently, while the design plan is still pending, CNMEG has been verbally demanding to increase the project cost. In succeeding correspondences, CNMEG has pegged the additional cost, based on computations as of March, 2008, at $299 million.

That would increase the project cost of the 32-kilometer Caloocan to Malolos stretch from $421 million to $720 million. That means the cost of the entire 80-kilometer Manila to Clark distance, which has no financing in place yet, will increase from $1 billion to $1.39 billion…

…After President Arroyo thumbed down CNMEG’s verbal demand in February to increase the construction price by $299 million, CNMEG formalized its demand in their May 13 notice of claim and in their June 3 demand letter to Northrail.

Of that amount, $88.63 million was due to variations in the original scope of work, such as the need to build viaducts instead of embankments in Valenzuela and Marilao areas.

The remaining $211 million was mainly due to foreign exchange losses ($106 million), inflation ($71 million), and cost of the delay in construction. CNMEG pointed fingers at Northrail’s inability to clear obstacles within the right-of-way areas and its non- completion of squatter relocations…

…In the April 24, 2008 letter of resigned Northrail president Arsenio Bartolome III to President Arroyo, he referred to a “presidential directive” regarding the completion of the Caloocan-to-Clark phase.

The directive emphasized two things: that it should be finished by 2010, the end of President Arroyo’s term, and that it should be within the project cost of $1.008 billion.

Construction cost for the 32-kilometer Section 1 from Caloocan to Malolos is $421 million, while Section 2 from Malolos to Clark is $673 million.

The design, supply, construct contract with CNMEG, for Section 1, Caloocan to Malolos, stipulates a construction period of 36 months, or 3 years, after Notice to Proceed was issued in Feb 19, 2007. It was meant to be completed by February 2010, perfect timing for the national election in May 2010.

The relocation of urban poor residents (one day, perhaps, destined to be only immortalized in photos or some videos) has proven expensive but relatively successful (most recently: an amazed foreign friend who had done some filming for a documentary in Blumentritt, Manila, and then saw how the community he’d filmed has been relocated and disappeared) see From ‘Home Along Da Riles’ to ‘Dreamland‘) Of course, not every delay is due to gross inefficiency or corruption on the part of government:

The report also says,

Unlike other controversial projects that were also cancelled, like the NAIA-3 airport terminal, where there is already a massive building that just needs a few months worth of repair and remediation work, the Northrail project’s railway construction has not even started.

I’m not sure if this is accurate.

The thing is, if you look at the reports and photos in the railroad enthusiasts’ blogs, you’ll see that a tremendous amount has been accomplished in terms of rehabilitating the railways (see Northrail-Southrail Linkage Project Update and Rail Lifting at Paco Station for example) though perhaps it’s fair to say no real laying down of track has taken place.

The question is to what extent the whole gigantic effort -and it is gigantic, you’re reversing the deterioration of the past forty years while at the same time laying down an entirely new railway system- has been marred by inefficiency or even corruption. These things take a toll on ongoing projects, as the headlines make pretty obvious, but it also raises another problem: even if hounded by corruption and inefficiency, is the solution to simply tear up contracts and scrap the project?

I once heard someone explain Romulo Neri Jr.’s pragmatism as follows. First question: does the country need a modern railway system? Yes. Since it does, can it be built without corruption? No. If it cannot be built without corruption, then whether major or minor corruption takes place, what is essential is for the railway to be built, because the economic benefits of the project dwarfs whatever corruption will take place.

And pragmatically speaking, Neri is correct and was thinking in true Southeast Asian fashion. This was the Marcos way: anyone who remembers the ferocious debates on MRT-1 along Taft Avenue (expensive! impractical! will never work!) will realize that despite all the objections, the elevated railway line has become an essential part of metropolitan infrastructure.

And this brings me to Neri, his latest reincarnation as SSS Chief.

The PCIJ in a Special Report reveals that the resignation of Corazon de la Paz and the assumption of the leadership of the SSS by Romulo Neri Jr. has a major policy shift at its core:

De la Paz first intimated how she has not been able to accustom herself to the workings of government, indicating a preference to return to her work in the private sector. But upon further questioning by the media, she eventually relented to a little known fact: she had stood up against the use of SSS members’ funds for the government’s pro-poor agenda, in the process offending the powers that be.

“Using the fund has limits. (It) cannot be used to finance pro-poor projects of the government unless it is defined in the (SSS) Charter,” De la Paz explained, serving up a warning to SSS members and the public of the potential danger of the fund being misused.

With Neri at the helm of the SSS, many have indeed expressed fear that the funds will be used for partisan political interests. Both Malacañang and Neri’s avowal that the funds will not be touched for government’s welfare programs has not helped assuage such concerns for the very reason that the appointment boils down, not so much to the issue of competence, but to Neri’s integrity and credibility - and that of the one who appointed him – as a public official.

Those who insist that the economy in general, or government financial matters in particular, can and ought to be insulated from politics have another lesson coming in why this is neither possible nor desirable. This is a defect that afflicts not just loyalists of the present dispensation, but bureaucrats, too, as the PCIJ report reveals:

Neri also probably felt his detachment that he had to bring along with him to NEDA people whom he could trust. His consultants, many of whom were not known to the NEDA staff, were like a parallel office which acted as his political arm. At first, some at NEDA appreciated the arrangement as it insulated the staff from politics, preferring not to deal with politicians and just continue to do their work professionally. Later, on instructions by Neri himself, NEDA officials had had occasions to interact with his consultants. Even his meetings with them were recorded as part of his official schedule.

The way one director understood it, Neri played politics as a matter of course in public policy. The NEDA Secretariat and other oversight bureaucracies are to exert effort in providing full information to decide policy, he says, and that necessitated engaging with politicians and playing the game of politics.

From his own experience working with him, the CPBO’s Vicerra believes Neri played politics not in the sense of politicking, which he says Neri always tried to avoid. “It’s more of realpolitik,” he explains, “as he always wants to involve himself in policy issues. And he has his advocacies.”

Doing so may have made the NEDA Secretariat more aware of the nature of public policy in their work, but it also made them vulnerable, admits the same director. “It put the organization and employees unprecedently in an unrequitedly bad light,” he says, though maintaining that the Secretariat has remained nonpartisan, its own standard of integrity and professionalism undiminished by this initiation into politics.

But Neri’s pragmatism, the NEDA staff also claim, conflicted with his reformist image. Some would say on hindsight that this probably explains why he is seemingly not appalled by unethical behavior, that is, corruption by way of commissions, extortions, kickbacks and the like, because these make things move or work. Others find it ironic that he wanted reforms yet “still wants to be in the good graces of this government.” Still others comment that since he is a “political animal” himself, it was not surprising that he had been offered bribes as he had admitted.

This is a confusing passage, but then it neatly illustrates the confused, because ignorant, attitudes of bureaucrats themselves about politics and its place in governance.

Government’s policies and management of the economy can be left alone if the public feels officials are capable and trustworthy stewards. If not, then they can and should be guarded every step of the way.

In its editorial, The Business Mirror, not inclined to be an instinctive critic of the administration, advocates retaining the VAT on oil, but points out the essential problem with expectations being built on spending the windfall for the public good:

Removing the oil E-VAT may be akin to a voluntary disarmament at a time when we need all the weapons we can get our hands on to confront grave threats to our economy.

Gordon’s proposals may not be popular – but they make sense. Having said that, the only problem with following his tack is this: Local experience is replete with evidence that, in this country, it’s next to impossible to get a good accounting of where and how precisely special-purpose funds – say, E-VAT “windfall” as used for infrastructure to rebuild disaster-ravaged areas and spur local economies – were applied. For even as critics complain that letting the government use the E-VAT windfall for doles is tantamount to giving more money to crooks, that same peril lies in using the funds instead, as Dick Gordon wants, for infrastructure.

Finally, in a town where a crusading auditor who keeps asking a warlord to “please liquidate” millions of pesos in public funds may easily get what he prays for – that is, be literally liquidated from the face of the earth, his killer(s) never brought to justice – accountability, like honesty in the Billy Joel song, is such a lonely word. So, to Dick Gordon, you may be right on this one, but, good luck.

Which goes to my point about NorthRail, the handling of the economy, and what Yen Macabenta points out: that the economy is coping with increases in the cost of oil pretty well, not least, it seems, to some pretty OK handling of economic matters by the powers-that-be; the problem is that while this redounds to the benefit of big business, ours is Still a jobless-growth economy; and the powers-that-be don’t quite know how to effectively toot their own horns and even if they do, there’s a widespread assumption officialdom’s on a looting spree (made even deeper, I think, because most of the public can’t quite grasp how it’s being done):

The report on Monday that the government kept its first-semester budget deficit at about P18 billion – only half of the programmed ceiling – despite the food and fuel price crises is encouraging. Two points stand out in the report:

First, revenue collection improved during the first semester.

And second, our fiscal managers were concerned that the various agencies of the government have not been able to absorb additional funding to help perk up domestic growth. In other words, the problem is not lack of funds, but projects to spend on.

When the President decided that the government would no longer aim for a zero budget deficit this year, it was for the specific objective of cushioning the impact of high consumer prices on the most vulnerable among our people. The government has the resources to provide subsidies to the needy during these trying times. And just as important, it has the funds to put into infrastructure and social and economic programs that will boost economic growth this year and next year.

Inflation for now is our biggest worry, as it hit a 14-year high of 11.4 percent in June. But Bangko Sentral Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. believes the problem should ease before the end of the year, and the country should fully recover by next year.

If you’re wondering why skyrocketing oil prices – with talk of crude hitting $200 a barrel by the end of the year – are not taking the bottom out of the economy, here are a few reasons:

1. It’s not just the price of crude oil that has soared to record levels this year; the prices of other commodities have hit peak levels, as well. This is the difference between this oil-price shock and the shock of 1974. Higher commodity prices across-the-board are also benefiting the exports of the Philippines and other countries. So our import bill is not as crushing.

2. Oil is not as all-pervasive in our economy as many believe. It affects mainly transport. Most of our electricity needs are fueled by other sources of energy, such as hydropower and geothermal energy.

3. The general prognosis of experts is that oil prices should come down during the second half of the year, though not to the same level as last year. The bubble is simply unsustainable. Demand will ease and supply will rise following the basic law of economics.

But again, the windfall is there. Surely it’s helped fund the following: Government subsidy for cheap rice in first half reaches P8.6B:

Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap said the rice stocks were distributed and sold through 3,197 Bigasan ni Gloria sa Palengke, 8,080 Tindahan Natin outlets, 540 Bigasan sa Parokya and 199 rolling stores nationwide.

Government subsidy for cheap rice is expected to rise as the DA said 28 million more bags of rice will be infused into the domestic market from now until December to stabilize prices.

The NFA will be injecting some 6.5 million bags monthly, from now until August.

This volume will be reduced to 5 million bags by September, when palay harvests for the wet or main crop will start coming in.

Yap said the government is confident that it will have more rice to distribute until the end of the year as 900,000 metric tons (MT) will arrive in the country before September 30.

But the questions won’t go away whether the windfall’s economic potential’s being maximized. As it is, the President has announced Round Two of her “Katas ng VAT” program (no mention if it’s part of the commemoration of National Nutrition Month):

Which brings me to something Jarius Bondoc puts forward in his column for today (no link to the Star because it still hasn’t figured out permanent links):

The truth is unraveling, slowly but surely. A clique in the Arroyo admin is capturing the energy sector for kickbacks.

First, there was a sudden flurry to amend the Electric Power Industry Reform Act. Rep. Mikey Arroyo, the presidential son who chairs the House committee on energy, said it was necessary to bring down consumer rates. His congressmen-brother Dato and uncle Iggy assented as committee members. It turns out, however, that the main amendment is to advance the start of open access from the time 70 percent of Napocor generators are privatized to only 50 percent. While speeding up open access is fine on paper, since it will allow big users to pick their own electric retailer earlier, it would be unfair in practice. State-owned Napocor will still control half the power plants, so there won’t be true competition. Worse, the Napocor mafia will continue to dictate, for multimillion-dollar kickbacks, imports of coal to fuel the plants, whether sold or not.

Then, Gloria Arroyo appointed amiga Zenaida Ducut as Energy Regulatory Board chief. Aside from Ducut being the town mate from whom Mikey inherited his congressional seat in 2004, they have a common friend, the oft-named jueteng lord Bong Pineda. Ducut’s posting jolted the industry because of a recent Napocor scam. The state firm last Feb. awarded to a four-month-old, undercapitalized and flighty broker a P956.4-million coal import from Indonesia. There must have been P258-million overprice, since the bid price was $109.50 per ton, although the Indonesian posted rate then was only $77 (at P40.418:$1 for three shiploads of 65,000 tons each).

Among the listed incorporators of broker Transpacific Consolidated Resources Inc. are Leslie and Ressie Ducut, but Zenaida disclaims kinship. Still, there are many inconsistencies. Napocor faxed the bid invitation two weeks prior to TCRI’s only known address then, the nearby Danarra Hotel’s business center, closed since Christmas. Now Napocor insists it awarded the deal when TCRI moved into a real office – in two short weeks. Paid-up capital was only P62,500, but Napocor says “so what?”, in disregard of the Public Bidding Act that requires congruity of capital with contract price. Ducut says the scam does not matter since, as ERC chair, she will have nothing to do with Napocor operations. But Napocor spokesman admits that the ERC, aside from the energy department and NEDA, needs to approve coal imports.

The capture of the electricity sector is complete - from the executive and legislative branches to the quasi-judicial ERC. From there the clique can move to other energy sectors - say, oil exploration - if it has not already.

(Incidentally, a sense of deja vu comes from this article: Lights Out in Indonesia: Jakarta as 1990s Manila? With India, Indonesia, Vietnam,scrambling to put up more power plants, and with the Philippines going to need more power plants soon, those who position themselves in the energy sector now are going to be positively minting their own money in years to come) If you’ve ever read how Ferdinand Marcos squirreled away funds abroad, then the stories -occasionally dribbled out in the press, but more often than not, whispered about in business circles- of what’s going on in the energy sector are equally intriguing -because the money’s come home, unlike most of Marcos’ stash. One day, hopefully, someone will write it all down, from the time money began to leave the country, a hop, skip, and a jump ahead of sleuthing legislators, journalists, and American anti-money-laundering officials, with the money making its way to places as far afield as Austria, then eventually, back home again where it could be used to buy banks, and dummy firms.

Manuel Buencamino looks at the curious story of Homobono Adaza’s alleged attempt to extort money from a Japanese businessman.

Ellen Tordesillas has the skinny on what the President was up to in Washington:

A Malacañang source who was part of Arroyo’s entourage in her recent US visit said there was no mention by Arroyo of any plans to implement martial law or authoritarian measures in her meeting with Bush, the first since she fell out of his grace after she pulled out the Philippine military contingent in Iraq in exchange for the release of kidnapped Filipino truck driver Angelo de la Cruz in July 2004.

But he admitted that increased military assistance was top in her agenda in her talks with American officials.

The source was amused that Philippine media covering Arroyo’s US visit followed Malacañang’s spin about the near passage of the Veterans Equity when they know very well that it has a slim chance of it passing in the House of Representatives despite the approval of the Senate.

He said the real reason Arroyo wanted to meet with American congressmen was to explain to them the government’s side on extra-judicial killings. Like in the Philippines, any appropriation bill originates in the House of Representatives. That’s the reason behind the idea of giving the newly minted Order of the Golden Heart Award, which is different from traditional Order of Sikatuna awards given to diplomats or nationals of other countries who have made outstanding contributions to strengthening of relations with the Philippines. According to press reports, not all awardees showed up during the conferment affair in Washington D.C. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi came very late.

(Just a correction, which I told Ellen: the Order of the Golden Heart was established by President Magsaysay. It was not “newly-minted.” A more relevant question might have been whether the Philippine Legion of Honor might have been more appropriate; but then a lower-ranking Order might be appropriate because no law has been passed yet.)

Foreign Affairs officials lobbied hard to get a meeting for Arroyo with Senator Barbara Boxer (D., Cal.) chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific. It will be recalled that Edith Burgos, widow of press icon Jose Burgos and mother of missing activist Jonas Burgos, met with Boxer last March.

In the hearing that she conducted on alleged extra-judicial killings perpetrated by the military, Boxer said, “We do not want blood on our hands. We do not want to use US taxpayers’ money to train their (Philippine) military and police to kill their own people.”

Arroyo was able to meet with Boxer, the source said. The meeting must have been so insignificant that it didn’t merit a line in Boxer’s website. Not even Malacañang reported it.

It was unfortunate for Malacañang that whatever propaganda it wanted to generate domestically for Arroyo’s US trip was negated by typhoon Frank which struck on the eve of her departure, sank a passenger ship and devastated many parts of the country. Compounding the stigma was the junket of 63 congressmen whom Arroyo brought along with her as part of her pre-2009 impeachment payment.

But the source said, despite the bad press that Arroyo’s US visit got, she feels that she accomplished her main objective which was to impress the military that she still has the support of the US establishment.

It maybe a meeting of lame ducks but it was still a White House meeting, the source said. Add to that was her meeting in Pentagon with Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

She may not have gotten categorical support for the things she might do in case her unpopular administration is shaken by the wrath of a long-suffering people, but it is good enough for Arroyo that she has given the military the illusion that the US is behind her. With that, she believes that her presidency, whatever questions about its legitimacy, is safe.

In the blogosphere, radicalchick aims a broadside at ABS-CBN and its Ces Drilon Kidnap Special.

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Manuel L. Quezon III.

487 thoughts on “Planes, trains, and automobiles

  1. so when the gun is pointed at you, you just bend on your knees and plead for your life? a genuine hero dies only once. a coward dies a thousand times. heroes end up dead like dead heroes. cowards die like “dead flies”.

  2. supremo, thanks for the update on luz. so the case hasn’t reached the courts yet. i hope it fares better there.

    psi, thanks for your comment on tutuban. its mere mention evokes fond memories of childhood and teen-age years, and sentimental trips to and from bicol (my home region). i hope the paco station is still there with its splendid architecture. gosh, i loved that smell of burning coal and the haunting strain of the train’s whistle.

  3. UP n student,

    We have discussed planes, trains but not the automobile. How about a self driving car like the Honda Accord ADAS or Volkswagen Golf GTi ’53 on Manila’s street? Self driving cars will definitely improve Manila’s chaotic traffic. You can now say ‘Dude, where’s my driverless car?’

  4. bencard,

    ‘i hope the paco station is still there’

    It’s still there the last time I went home but some parts were demolish to make way for a mall. I think this was done during the Ramos administration. The mall was not finished. It was abandoned by the builder.

  5. Leytenian,

    I have to agree with the Cat on project evaluation.
    But you are right there are lots to consider, and those three are very important.

    Beyond determinig if both npvs are greater than zero; you have to know the future cash flows’ present value and of course the payback period,ilan taon makakabawi.

    If you are lucky enough to get an ODA from Japan,it does not mean that you wiill use Japanese technology; it is just the funding and it won’t always be 0.75 to 1 %
    That is why I wonder what is taking Congress so long with the IRR-B of the procurement law para me implementing rules tayo sa mga international financial institutions,kundi sila lagi magdictate.

    If you look at the procurement law it is ambiguous, ang palausot for the delay; section four states that the funding may come from anywhere.

    would you like to have an idea how much a japanese railway cost?

    I will give an example, like I gave above.

    Three-Way Shenkasen Project in Japan:construction 2005-2012

    length is : 53.8
    Project Cost: 1.16 Trillion Yen
    or $ 11,252 M
    2005= 1 yen $.0097
    Cost per km= $ 209.14
    track gauge:Standard
    no. of tracks: double
    design speed: 220 kph
    traction: Electric

    It is not peanuts.we cannot afford,kaya ng bidding natin pababaan.
    sa corporate world, sa mga supplier/vendor mo pag nagpaquote ka,pababaan din di ba,wala ka ng pakialam sa reputation ng vendor ang importante ang least cost for the company.Ideally,but even electronic biddings can be rigged,because familiarity always breeds contempt.

    sa style mo kulang data puro palabas ang pera,naghula ka man lang sana kung magkano kikitain sa pamasahe,ano yan pinapacompute mo ammortization ng housing loan or car loan?Those are projects na me pera papasok,and For the last time the time value of money is very important.

    nagkaayos na kayo ni the Cat, balik na naman sa dati.
    IKAW KASI EH.

  6. “I recognize this weakness in the bureaucracy like when neri was appointed in the CHED and now appointed in the SSS.”

    “If you look at the procurement law it is ambiguous, ang palausot for the delay; section four states that the funding may come from anywhere.”

    weaknesses are manageable.

    oo ayos na kami ni the cat.. lol.

  7. KG,
    you can use the revenue of that link as your future cash flow, NPV, payback…( as an example)…
    I don’t see a point of delay and making us wait for years…

  8. “a genuine hero dies only once. a coward dies a thousand times. heroes end up dead like dead heroes. cowards die like “dead flies”.

    Eulogy is for the consumption of the living and the state bestowed poetic justice and exultations while amused of the deaths it had sponsored. Parang si President Arroyo which ratified the optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Cruel and Unusual Punishment on April 22, 2008 and spoke of the moral obligation of the state. While the commander in chief silently condoned her military enforcers on human rights abuses whose favorite victims are leftists and journalists who expose corruptions.

    Human Rights Director Dr Renato Basas disclosed that Arroyo administration has outdone all other post-Marcos presidential regimes in the number of torture cases and deaths.

    The irony is that the commander in chief Arroyo sent her military enforcers to the US for FBI forensics and help bury the evidences.

    Cowards dying a thousand times is only good in poetry. Military disciples have consistent observation on kills (courageous or cowards), there is that last breath before death.

  9. Leytenian ,read your link again.

    read starting from profit onwards.or maintenance onwards.

    lrt one was satrted late seventies and completed early eighties,of course maliit yung cost nuon,compared sa mga mrt na nahuli.
    mrt 3 is being subsidized to prevent fare hikes.

    Esep esep.

    the delays are mentioned.

    the up paper, a senate investigation,and other factors leading to the pullout.

    kung sa procurement law pa lang sabit na ito, buti pa zte me AHI at isa pa.
    north rail dumaan ba sa bidding?

    Sino ba ayaw nito,bukod sa mga masokistang truckers na gusto yata palaging naglalagay?

    It might be anomalous e di ayusin at planstahin para wala gusot.
    and me nagsabi baka di na raw ito speed rail, at yung mga pessimist o hatchet guys sinasabi konti daw mga magiging pasahero.

    Build it and they will come.

  10. to d0d0ng: i guess you still live in the Philippines, because you sound very angry and unhappy, unlike vic (in Canada), benign0 (in New Zealand), or rego.

  11. to d0d0ng: a parable for you:
    An American professor goes to a Zen master to learn about Zen Buddhism. The Zen master pours tea in a cup for the professor. After some time, it starts spilling and the professor shouts, “Stop, no more will go in the cup.” Says the Zen master: “Likewise, your mind is full of your own ideas. How can I teach you when your cup of knowledge is so full?”

  12. Agenda: ( Goal and Mission) The rehabilitation and expansion of the PNR network is one of the key projects in the ten-point agenda of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

    KG: the point i made on the link is there’s profit to be made but this is NOT the issue of delay. It is the implementation of process to achieve the AGENDA. the delays you mentioned are the result of poor implementation.

  13. “btw, further to my response to mlq3 @ 7:00 pm, law is not theoretical – it is most “real world” than anything. nothing is not touched or governed by it. the entire nation exists by virtue of it. remove the law and there’s no government, no state, no philippines. law is not rendered non-existent or ineffectual by its violation, or non-compliance “in practice”.

    Before the onset of organized communities what was the law then?

  14. Interesting to note that there are many buisness projections on the viability of the railroad but no one has laid down the frame for the more important economic analysis.

    The business analysis only becomes viable if the economic analysis projects it to be viable.

    It is also amazing that many do not know the workings of the ODA format for loans. All ODA loan formats are eseentially vendor financed loans. They lend you the money at low rates but you have to buy their goods and services. It is a closed end propostion.

    Simple economic analysis as to the effects on the economy going forward from 50–100 years. First the linkages to the productive sectors. There is almost no loinkage to the manufacturing secotr. In point of fact we are actually exproting labor value to a foreign country.

    The only productive industrial activity is construction. Even the future mainatenace and supplies of the railroad will tie the business to the supplier going forward for more than 25 years.

    Add to this the projections of forex risk. You earn in pesos and pay for capital stock and supplies in yen or dollars. You have to make very broad assumptions about your cost structure depending on a forex rate band.

    Then comes your ate to be charegd since this is not BOT. No need for take or pay. The state will most assuredly subsidze rates as even if it were electric driven that would entail an increase in generating capacity of the power industry.

    Who would benefit??? Landowners along the route would see the value of their lands surge and hubs will be establsihed for housing and commercial applications.

    You will simply expand the Manila model and create enclaves for the rich and the rest would live in slums and middle class communities.

    Once again you will fail to create meaningful growth that will lead to development as the model is simply expanding the urban areas to create bedroom communities for Metro Manila.

    The entire project is simply to create spurts in growth in construction and create revenue for the transportation and ancilliary services.

    Once again the Sy’s , Ayalas and Gokongwei will simply expand their mall models
    outward.

    It is the Edsa model with the MRT. Off course no telling what the price of the entire project willbe with all its cost overuns and the cost of energy going forward.

    The Philippines economy is still based on the land value model. Everything revovles around land valuations. The creation of capital stock whether physical or metaphysical is not part of the wealth creation process in the Philippines.

    Point of fact the government expects consumption taxes and realty taxes that will be generated along the railroad to compensate for the subsidized fares that will be charged.

    GMA and Co. are simply creating impact projects for the medium term for projections which is not linked to any long term growth model leading to developing the entire economy. The target is May 2010 elections at any price. Any way the futrre generations that will be paying for this project will not have a say or vote in this. executive privilege and even if not most people today are clueless…..

    What is so funny is the state wants to direct the planning of behavior between man and woman in the bedroom but is not planning for the long term on providing the physical framework for viable communities to grow.

    That would mean sustainable growth with good quality job creation to solve the poverty probelm. Instead you blame the poor for having too many babies and blame them for our maldevelopment and underdevelopment.

    Politicans simply plan to remain in political power to further their vested interests.

    There really are a lot of highly schooled and trained ignorant people in this country.

  15. hvrds: isn’t land-value model just a variant of the gold model (which you espouse)? Land-valuation is better than valuation-by-eyeballs, for sure. And physical is gets you up, Black-Scholes-Merton puts you to sleep. Just open up YouTube to find Olivia Newton-John singing

    I’m saying all the things that I know you’ll like
    Making good conversation.
    I gotta handle you just right
    you know what I mean.

    …..
    Let’s get physical….physical –
    I wanna get physical
    let’s get into physical

    Let me hear your body talk
    your body talk
    Let me hear your body talk.

  16. you asking me? before the dawn of civilization, the law is the one who wielded the deadliest club. next question, please?

  17. hvrds : kidding aside, the Executive Branch has created projects synched up to the UNDP Millenium Goals for 2015 — the usual ‘reduce poverty’, ‘primary/secondary universal access’, ‘HIV/AIDS’, others..

    But the reason escapes me 🙄 why 2010 is a specific milestone for GMA’s planning dudes.

  18. But the United Nations is just one huge bureaucracy with no unique expertise of its own, so I will understand if hvrds or cvj disagree with Pinas designing programs in consonance with the UNDP Millenium Goals. Different folks, different strokes.

  19. ‘the Executive Branch has created projects synched up to the UNDP Millenium Goals for 2015’

    That only proves that Filipino leaders are not imaginative. For Filipino leaders meeting the UN goals is like getting the latest cellphone. It’s all about bragging rights. Never mind that the goals are ridiculously relative in nature.

  20. bencard, sad to say all that’s left of the paco station is the facade. pnr embarked on property development and tore down most of the old station -in fact wanted to tear the whole thing down until heritage proponents raised a fuss- so their consuelo de bobo was that they’d integrated the old facade into their new mall. then the asian financial crisis hit and they ran out of money. result? no mall, just a couple of half-completed floors, and a crumbling facade.

  21. PSI, your info is slightly out of date, a more accurate reflection might be:

    Manila Bulletin – Emilio Yap, Manila Hotel
    Manila Standard -Enrique Razon, ICSTI;
    Manila Times – (am not sure who owns this now)
    Philippine Daily Inquirer – Prieto family largest shareholder, Dunkin Donuts, Shakey’s, invested by affinity in Rufino properties; Romualdez, related by marriage, is spokesman for mining industry
    Philippine Star – Go family and QC Mayor Sonny Belmonte;
    Business Mirror- Amb. Cabangon Chua, owner of Fortune Life and motels
    ABS-CBN – Lopez Group, MERALCO, Benpres, etc.
    GMA7 – Duavit, Jimenez, etc. (shares contested by Marcos family), in talks with PLDT
    DZRH: Elizalde

  22. hvrds,
    “The entire project is simply to create spurts in growth in construction and create revenue for the transportation and ancilliary services”

    not only that, for global economy:
    Northrail will facilitate and strengthen linkages between southern China provinces and northern Luzon. the exchanges of goods and people. Growing world trade and tourism during the past century has increased the importance of providing good grounds for rapid transfer of cargo and passengers among cities and countries.

    for local economic advantage: rail is proven to reduce transportation cost,
    electrical power is more environmentally friendly ( global warming policy), development of rail transportation will pave the way for development of marine and road transportation and provide needed grounds for further development of local tourism industry.

    “Point of fact the government expects consumption taxes and realty taxes that will be generated along the railroad to compensate for the subsidized fares that will be charged”

    that’s standard.

    “Simple economic analysis as to the effects on the economy going forward from 50–100 years. First the linkages to the productive sectors. There is almost no loinkage to the manufacturing secotr..”

    might have to disagree. i am open to tourism and global exchanges 7100 islands in Asia, is a must see place according to world tourism. ( but let’s not ignore national interest of china)

    “In point of fact we are actually exproting labor value to a foreign country.”
    true… in the case of ODA… I did mention contract and employment https://www.quezon.ph/1911/planes-trains-and-automobiles/#comment-874529

    hoping that the project will be materialized before 200′ forgotten.

  23. tester on, “i guess you still live in the Philippines, because you sound very angry and unhappy”

    You are 0 on 3 guesses (live in Phil, angry & unhappy) far below an average person of hitting an equal chance. You can do better than that.

  24. “The Zen master pours tea in a cup for the professor. After some time, it starts spilling and the professor shouts, “Stop, no more will go in the cup.” Says the Zen master: “Likewise, your mind is full of your own ideas. How can I teach you when your cup of knowledge is so full?”

    Tea(knowledge) is as worth its medicinal properties(uses) if it is drink(applied). It is not meant to be contained in a cup(possessed).

  25. mlq3, thanks for the update. I Googled-searched the ownership of The Manila Times. The paper was sold by former Estrada-crony Mark Jimenez to GMA-ally Dante Ang, who is also currently the chairman of the Commission of Filipinos Overseas (CFO). I’m not really sure ofthe mandate of this Commission is.

    Let’s hope Manila Times and CFO do not get used for propaganda in the coming 2010 elections.

    Back to Trains and Planes: the NAIA III will now open but used mostly for domestic flights specially by the Gokongwei’s Cebu Pacific. Philippine Air Lines will continue to use the Centennial Terminal, which I believe Mr. Lucio Tan helped build.

    NAIA III is quite modern with nice feature: you guessed it, a big shopping mall!!! What else? Need you doubt?

  26. PSI, that’s not so bad. The Changi terminals here in Singapore similarly have shopping malls so sometimes i hang out there during weekends as it’s near my neighborhood.

  27. kg, your calculations are spot on:

    RP’s Northrail project could be world’s costliest railway – Drilon

    “The Philippines will be having the world’s most expensive railway — about $25 million per kilometer — ”

    “He said Tibet’s electric railway system, which was harder to build because of the area’s mountainous landscape, would fail in comparison with the Philippines’ Northrail project.”

    “Drilon said Tibet only spent about $3.7 million per km for the construction of the complicated structure.”

    http://www.gmanews.tv/story/108020/RPs-Northrail-project-could-be-worlds-costliest-railway–Drilon

  28. July 28,2008(SONA 2008,hopefully)

    Mga Kababayan (My Countrymen):

    This will be my second to the last State Of The Nation Address before my term legally ends in 2010.

    I have 710 days left in office.

    Help me be a good president during the remainder of my term.

    I am announcing my seven-point agenda in the remaining 710 days.

    1) I am declaring a national policy of AUSTERITY.I will not go on expensive foreign trips during the remainder of my term. No more costly junkets! If ever I need to travel,I promise not to bring the retinue of 59 congressmen who accompanied me to the recent US trip.

    2) I will appoint men and women of probity to important government positions.I am delighted that the general public welcomed the appointment of General Alexander Yano as AFP chief and Leila de Lima as Commission on Human Rights head.

    3) I promise a policy of non-interference with the Supreme Court in spite of the fact I have a majority of nine Gloria loyalists in the SC bench.I will allow the Great Dissenter,Chief Justice Reynato Puno to exercise the rightful independence of the highest court.

    4) I promise a more objective handling of our foreign affairs with China.There will be no more scandalous ZTE deals!

    5)I promise not to inititate a hasty Charter Change move just to find a way to legally extend my
    term beyond 2010.No more Cha-Chas! No More Con -Ass!

    6)I will review the possiblity of reducing the VAT on oil .

    7) I promise a a policy of national reconciliation with all my political enemies.I swear I have no more Presidential ambitions beyond 2010!

    So help me God!

    Gloria Arroyo

  29. I don’t understand Drilon can just speak to the public without consulting from the experts.. Look if our government cannot make its decision. The easy way is to hire a consulting firm that can assess the whole project.
    There’s plenty in the world.. the link I provided are one of them. Why bother to try to manage if the team are obviously intellectually bankrupt.

    to the cat:
    “Manolo, I agree with you. but in management, you want to hire your own people…your team…people who can you trust…people who you expect to become team player…regardless of their qualification. ”

    true for Philipine management and small business consulting. It may work to pinoy owners of small business in america. Management in the corporate world will go thru hiring process ( HR Management- MBTI assessment of personality, skills and experience). One important question in the application, how did you hear about our company? who refer you to our company. If one will answer, sister… good luck. Private companies can have the power to appoint but it’s already been proven that family should not be involved in the real business. The relationship will be at risk. ( no wonder lots of my filipino friends wo are doing business together as family are not talking.. lol). For public companies listed on the stock exchange, your strategy is a big NO NO.

  30. leytenian, the extention of our TTC subway, The Sheppard Subway at 6 km at the cost $200 millions per km. and Spain built 150 km at $90 millions per km. and for comparison, consultants are going to Spain to figure out, but they already have some idea why the difference is quite BIG..here is the news item:

    Madrid built 150 kilometres of subway between 1995 and 2007 for about $90 million per kilometre.

    The Sheppard subway, by comparison, is about 6 kilometres long, took eight years to build and cost $200 million per kilometre. (Sheppard Subway is just an Extension and more are planned, including one to the Airport).

    That’s a difference worth exploring, says Metrolinx, the Toronto region’s transportation planning agency, though it acknowledges that direct comparisons with European examples it studied aren’t fair.

    The TTC is sending its own engineers to look at the Madrid subway this year. </But chair Adam Giambrone is already rejecting England’s idea of using public-private partnerships to extend subways.

    A partnership with the private sector could compromise quality and, in the long run, cost more, he warned. “Retrofitting subways is very expensive.”

    He said that if the TTC had to negotiate a private-public deal to build the Transit City light rail lines it could delay the start of those projects, slated for 2009 and 2010.

    Giambrone is also opposed to any arrangement that would put TTC operations in the hands of a private company, citing the case of Montreal, where riders pay a surcharge to ride on the Metro extension. But, a design-build partnership is something the TTC may consider on projects such as refurbishing and extending the Scarborough RT. (Rapid Train is a light train traveling on surfurce, above ground on its own fenced tracks interconnecting to the last subway station)

    Metrolinx’s chief executive officer, Michael Fenn, chair Rob MacIsaac and York Region chair Bill Fisch, who sits on the Metrolinx board, travelled to England and Spain in November to look at their transit systems.

    Their report on that trip, to go before the Metrolinx board tomorrow, isn’t meant to be authoritative or suggest any particular direction for the region, Fenn said. “One of the things we need to look at in the evaluation of the projects is the best way to deliver them,” he said.

    The report notes Madrid has been building subways under different political and geographical conditions. The extensive project can rely on economies of scale, in everything from the purchase of equipment to engineering contracts. “The government is taking a long-term view.

    They plan out the building of infrastructure over a long period of time. They don’t do them as a one-off. It has the effect of creating an industry that specializes in that kind of work,” Fenn said.
    A 2003 consultant’s analysis shows that, all things being equal, the difference in cost between Madrid and Toronto is only about 10 to 20 per cent, said TTC chief general manager Gary Webster.

    The Madrid subway is built deeper than Toronto’s because the soil is easier to dig. That means the Madrid rails don’t need to be laid on rubber pucks to reduce noise and vibration, as is done in Toronto. Madrid’s ventilation and evacuation standards are also different, he said, adding that Spain also requires less time-consuming public consultation on such projects.

    http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/296999

  31. Leytenian,

    There’s a big cost differential between an elevated rail like MRT/LRT) and straight rolling railway like Northrail. I believe that if there were no right-of-way issues for the latter, it is indeed quite expensive.

  32. thanks Vic… at least you understand why consulting at least help. Might be a good thing to train our corrupt officials. Let them hear it from somebody else.

    “geologically sound, sparsely populated landscape in a developing country might be built for as little as US$ 2 million per kilometre including electrical and mechanical equipment.”
    http://www.railway-technical.com/finance.shtml#How-Much

    the 10% to 20% of difference is already enough to upgrade our educational system or even subsidies our poor farmers. i have to run… this topic is driving me nuts… have a good weekend everyone.

  33. “You are 0 on 3 guesses (live in Phil, angry & unhappy) far below an average person of hitting an equal chance. You can do better than that.”-dOdOng to tester

    Got 1 score out of 3 on the other though (vic is a happy guy).

    Got another 0 on 2 about ‘live in Phil.’ (angry and unhappy).

  34. Hvrds,
    mea culpa on ODA.I am not afraid to be called stupid,I made worse comments than that.but this I am sure, the procurement law is bound for ammendments,because section 4 is indeed ambiguous.

    My dad,with congressman Abaya(cabvite),with the advice of Yet to be supreme court justice Nachura proceeded to question the foreign funding portion of the procurement law,because with what is happening the bank dictates everything including the supplier, all this baloney about the competion on the donor country’s side means simply the donor dictates who the supplier ; and it practically made the procurement law useless.They lost in the supreme court,but all is not lost.

    The Marikina Infanta road, the largest locally funded project is way over tongpats because of the share of the gentlemen.My dad and congressman abaya,et al also questioned it. at least even if they lost in the supreme court, all is not lost,kahit konti napababa nila ang price ng marikina infanta road kahit di sila kasali,me sentimental value sa kanila yun dahil nung junior officers pa lang sila they pushed for its construction.

    ==========

    on another note: for those advocates of food security and rice self sufficiency; FYI;the National Irrigation Authority has a larger budget than the DPWH.

  35. CVJ

    Try finding out why koreans are here, some suck doing business in Korea; so dito sila nakikipagsapalaran.Only a few are big shots there at sila lang ang malalakas duon.

    Vietnam, ilan kilometro na ang inandar ng kotse mo isang tanim lang ang makita mo.medyo ang ganda ng zoning nila, dito one product one province ????pwede kaya yun?

    Also you will find out that there are lots of NFA sacks in Vietnam.

  36. Psi ty.

    leytenian, mrt 3 extension ba yang $ 50 million per kilometer, Holy Cow!!!!

    quite ka muna, hintayin mo munang simulan pag kumalat yan, baka di matuloy.

    nabannggit natin Japan kanina, they have zero percent interest rate.

    kaya sa contrata sila bumabawi.

  37. to KG , who said : mea culpa on ODA.I am not afraid to be called stupid,

    Actually, to hvrds. Why make them feel stupid those who do not know what you do not know — e.g. ODA. I think it is more accurate to say

    HVRDS is THE ONE….. hvrds knows more than 99% of the college-
    or even the graduate-degree holders of Pinas.

  38. Devils (at 11:21 pm), thanks for the heads up. I saw the book last night at Borders, will have to come back tomorrow to buy it 🙂

    Karl (at 11:52 pm), is your comment a response to something i said? If yes, please explain as i’m unable to follow. Thanks.

  39. to KG , who said : mea culpa on ODA.I am not afraid to be called stupid,

    Actually, to hvrds. Why make them feel stupid those who do not know what you do know — e.g. ODA. I think it is more accurate to say

    HVRDS is THE ONE….. hvrds knows more than 99% of the college-
    or even the graduate-degree holders of Pinas.

  40. regarding ODA…. or Black-Scholes. Now still not what hvrds knows about brainwashing 👿 a population, or if HVRDS is only good for 3 beers before he acts stupid. 😀

  41. Regarding property rights (subject of the book linked by Devils above), this “anti-commons” gatekeeping, i.e. right of way issues, is one big reason why many infrastructure projects in the Philippines get long delays and incur huge cost overruns.

    Sad thing is, it has been reported that some of these “property owners” are illegal occupants or squatters themselves.

  42. PSI, would it be ‘less sad’ if the property owners where legal occupants? I remember, for example, that the reason why the C5 flyover near Eastwood going to Katipunan was delayed was because the original plan would have it go through Blue Ridge subdivision. Eventually it got built via another route where a lot of squatter shanties where demolished instead.

  43. Karl,
    japan might be flexible in terms of employment. i believe japan will hire our local people to do the installation but will use their engineers for supervision. china is a different story. Its employment rate is low compared to japan. Very few japanese do the dirty work…it’s china’s advantage to bring their own workers to our country.
    As far as I can remember, Kumagai, INC a japanese corporation did the contract for southern leyte ( Maasin to Sogod ) highway . The company employed and trained our local people and some local engineers. Only the managers were japanese. The highway in Southern has no potholes until now of 27 years. From Sogod to Silago of which was done by a local contractor and some chinese contractor.. both were using chinese cement ( for housing kono) the results, lots of potholes within a year causing my little brother to wreck his car and lots of friends with moped getting injured.

    The advantage of hiring our own people for installation is revenue from income taxation during the terms of the project contract. It will hopefully balance few project cost but quality is not sacrificed. The second advantage of having our own people do the dirty work is gaining actual , on site experience which will be useful for long term maintenance of our railways.
    China is desperate to employ their own people. That’s a fact and our government must consider some other options.

  44. leytenean: Explanation for the difference in the quality of Leyte projects is project-management, in particular, quality control.

    Quality control is why the items sold in Walmart or Costco will outlast and/or are ‘mas pulido’ than similarly-looking items you may buy in Beijing (or Bangkok). Made-in-China clothes (or tools) made for US-consumption are better than made-in-China goods for China-consumption.

  45. quality control is very important:
    “The Chinese contractor has no technical capability to undertake the North Rail project. It has no expertise or proven track record in turnkey railway projects.”

    “While it claims to be ranked no. 37 (now ranked no. 47) by the Global Engineering News Record in the list of 225 largest international contractors in 2004, the CNMEC is also ranked no. 14 nowhere to be found on the ENR’s list of top 60 Chinese contractors.”

    “CNMEC’s full corporate name is China National Machinery and Equipment Import and Export Corporation, a trading company. The omission of “Import and Export” may have been intentional to hide the fact of CNMEC’s lack of technical qualification as a contractor of the North Rail project”

    “The loan also has some strange features: a down payment equal to five percent of the contract price (due within 30 days upon signing of the loan agreement); and advance payment of 25 percent to the Chinese contractor within 15 days of contract effectivity”

    http://www.pcij.org/blog/?p=419

    http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=alvinCapino_oct14_2005

    Karachi Pakistan is also having the same problem but only 15% downpayment was required.
    http://www.governorsindh.gov.pk/pressrelease/news.asp?id=322

  46. CVJ,

    been in a long journey yeaterday with a few businessmen.
    wala napag usapan ko lang ang mga ideas mo tungkol sa isang businessman citing Korea and Vietnam as your favorite topic as success stories.

    kwentong kutsero lang from someone who has done business with Koreans in Korea and Koreans in the phils.

    Korea, although very succesful, has only a few companies that made it big.Others do business here or elsewhere.

    Vietnam,wala naiinggit lang ako sa zoning nila,dito malabo mangyari yon.at ang narrative tungkol sa dami ng nfa sacks dun;i was not surprised.. heard it here first,ke Cat yata.

    eto wala ito nagkukwento lang ako hah.

    Kahapon. I went back to my province in Mulanay Quezon for the first time in 33 years, ang haba pala ng Bondoc penninsula nanghinayang ako for lack of agricultural support; I was with a few businessman me tiningnan kami oil mill na nasequester nagbabaksali kami na pwede ilease.

    dyan ko nadinig ang mga kwentong kutsero about vietnam and korea,nagpakwento precisely because naalala kita.At yung mga concerns mo about land reform;katabi ko di kinausap ko na, gurang na ito and been all over the country and the world.

    Quezon should be divided in to two, Lucena lang at kaunti ang umasenso,madami pang pwede gawin.

    pero going back to coconut mills;another sad story how the PCGG ruins everything it touches.

    We have visited a typhooon ravaged coconut mill in Pasacao Bicol,last February sira nga yung bubong naalagaan naman ang gamit.
    Sa pcgg through the one handling coconut ciif yata …. pinalitan nga yung bubong,pero yung mga equipo bulok.

    ilan pa kaya ang mga pinabayaan ng pcgg mabulok.

    dami ko naalala sa blog na ito
    wala pang pang ilang araw pinag usapan dito ang project evaluation,ang gagawin kasi namin we are figuring out which is better to lease or to buy.
    many factors to consider ika nga ni leytenian at ni Cat.
    O sige na HVRDS pati economic icoconsider din.

    ==========================================

    HVRDS,

    produkto ka pala ng San Beda.Roco was a product of Beda na bow ako,among many others,like Ninoy,etc..

    http://www.degalen.com/zzaagallery25.htm

    http://www.degalen.com/zzaagallery20.htmV

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