Mar markets Noynoy

EDITORIAL

Click to enlarge

11/15/2009

Sen. Manuel Roxas II, apparent spokesman of Liberal Party presidential bet Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino, is resorting to low blows to fend off the valid demand for an explanation from Noynoy on the portion of the P32-billion Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) project which benefited his Aquino-Cojuangco family’s Hacienda Luisita.

Roxas tried to drag the name of former President Joseph Estrada as the one who had egged on Aquino to back the project, implying that Estrada had extraordinary interest in the project.

The project was initiated during the term of Estrada and Roxas is now using that fact to confront the issue.

A timeline of the project, however, will reveal that the escalation in the cost of the project to accommodate additions to it such as the road interchange connecting the Cojuangco estate to the expressway happened after the 2001 power grab of which the Aquinos were a key part.

Documents shown to the Tribune revealed that from an original cost of P15.73 billion in 1999 on the SCTEX project, it was adjusted to P18.7 billion in 2003, the second year of Gloria’s administration, and in 2004, before the project bidding, the cost grew to P21 billion, to be further jacked up to P26.587 billion when the project was awarded on the same year.

After it was completed recently, its actual cost had zoomed to P32 billion as in most mega-bucks project that the Arroyo administration inherited when it grabbed power.

Roxas, in defending Noynoy, did not squarely address the P250 million worth of the government-funded, private interchange and payments for right of way (RoW) that benefited Noynoy’s family.

The project itself without the political accommodations that bloated its cost such as the SCTEX was a necessity to boost government efforts to promote the former US military bases of Subic and Clark as freeport zones after American forces left these.

It was only expected that Estrada then would intensely push the project which happened to pass through then Tarlac Rep. Noynoy Aquino’s political jurisdiction. But as reported, that SCTEX project was at a low P15 billion, and with no big changes to benefit the hacienda.

What is left unexplained is the role of Noynoy when corruption started to permeate the project and when it started to bloat to accommodate lagniappe such as the interchange and the collateral kickbacks.

There were feeble attempts likely from Noynoy to explain away the escalation of the cost of the project to the delay that hounded it and the cost of inflation.

In a span of 10 years, the cost of the project doubled or went into a 100 percent cost escalation. Despite the managed inflation numbers of the government, a 100 percent inflation rate in 10 years is unfathomable.

It was clear in the documents that the costly interchange to nowhereland was inserted into the projected sometime before it went through a bidding in 2004, at a time when Gloria was preparing for reelection and was trying to woo the late Cory Aquino for active support against then strong opposition candidate Fernando Poe Jr.

The expressway was made to pass through the middle of Luisita, that in turn required the setting up of a P170-million road interchange that leads directly to a private road owned by the Aquino-Cojuangco family.

While the government charges private companies to link their industrial complexes to a major public, it was the opposite with the project as the government paid the Cojuangcos P80 million for right of way to connect Hacienda Luisita to the expressway, plus a free P170 million roadway for Noynoy’s family.

Cavite Rep. Crispin Remulla cited the cases in Slex (South Luzon Expressway) of Asia Brewery and alcohol maker Greenfield Corp. which both had to pay the state-owned Philippine National Construction Corp. P241 million each for the right to have an interchange. “The same goes for Southwoods and Mamplasan. They had to build the interchanges themselves at their own cost. They had to donate eight hectares which is standard area for an interchange,” according to Remulla.

Roxas should stop acting as lawyer for Noynoy and tell the wannabe president to answer the allegations against his family personally since he cannot hide behind anybody’s back if his intention is to lead the land.

Moreover, he owes it to his parents to come clean on every issue.

Back to top

For comments about this website:Webmaster@tribune.net.ph
The Daily Tribune © 2006