by Lorie Ann A. Cascaro
Completing the list of priority projects in different key areas in the country to be proposed to President-elect Benigno Simeon Aquino III in August, the Philippine Constructors Association, Inc. (PCA) is looking at solar and wind as alternative energy sources in Mindanao.
“The PCA is basing it on our experience in the past,” Manolito P. Madrasto, PCA executive director, said during the press conference at the Villa Margarita Hotel along J.P. Laurel Avenue last June 24. He said that in the past, the government had a master plan that covered all requirements of Philippine society, but the projects were not linked up.
Noting the proposal for a food terminal, Madrasto said Mindanao is the country’s food basket and yet post-harvest facilities were not considered resulting in huge quantities of farm products going to waste. He said if managed properly, all that waste had value out of which the farmers could have made money.
Madrasto said the problem is that studies were not concerted. Say, for example, there was a study only for roads but the requirements for agriculture and tourism had not been considered. “Kailangan nakaconnect yan eh, so, that way makikita mo ngayon na yun ang priority (They need to be connected so that you can see which is the priority.),” he said.
“For example, what did we see as a priority in Mindanao? There’s a lot of hope for Mindanao, but you forgot the main priority. Power is a high priority. You’re dependent only on hydro power. ‘Pagka nawala ang tubig, wala kayong kuryente (If there’s no water, you’ll have no power.) So, how come nobody thought of it?” he asked.
Madrasto said wind power is possible in Davao City because it is not necessary to have strong wind currents. He said all that is needed is sustainability. Napaligiran kayo ng dagat pwede kayo mag lagay ng turbine (You are surrounded by seas, turbines can be put up here.) You have so much sunlight. Nobody has looked into the concept of solar energy,” he said.
He said Mindanao is a big island, a huge importance in the economy and yet nobody has focused on the power issue. “Paano kayo tatakbo kung wala kayong power? (How will your economy run without power?) Dapat nagkaroon ng prioritization kung paano aayusin yun (There should have been prioritization on how to fix the problem.),” he said.
PCA president Levy V. Espiritu said Singapore, whose climate is similar to that of Mindanao, is using solar power, adding that Malaysia and Indonesia are also doing it. “We will get the best practices from these countries and apply it here. Sa atin naman kinopya, eh (They copied it from us). Inimplement nila, tayo hindi dahil meron tayong vested interest and we should change that. (They implemented the concept but we did not because of certain vested interests. We should change that.),” he said.
Espiritu added that it is just a matter of implementing existing laws. “So, in Mindanao, we’re looking at solar power, and we’re looking at wind power,” he said.
PPP projects
The construction industry is expected to be boosted by 6-7% in 2010, according to Madrasto. That will be contributed mainly by the private sector.
Organizing the biggest construction equipment and building materials expo ever in the Mindanao region, dubbed PHILCONSTRUCT MINDANAO 2010, on July 1-3 at the Convention Hall of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) building, the PCA says that construction comes first before business.
In any industry, there is a construction component, Ramon F. Allado, Philconstruct Mindanao 2010 chairman, said. “That’s why,” he added, “there will be a round table discussion on July 1, also at the BSP on the revival of the working group for construction and construction materials of the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asian Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA).”
Wilfredo H. Guerzon Jr., president of the Davao Constructors Association Center Inc. (DCACI), said that in Mindanao, construction growth was distributed to the agricultural sector, particularly roads, and processing and packaging plants of banana plantations; to the mining industry which is at its peak, as well as housing developments. Guerzon also noted the contribution of the tourism and business process outsourcing industries.
Madrasto said the Construction Industry Congress started in January this year and came up with resolutions which will be presented to President Aquino in August. These priority projects will apply the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model, he said.
Madrasto added that the PPP allows government to shoulder 30% of the project cost, and the private sector the remaining 70%. Instead of taking a risk by borrowing from international banks, and eventually increasing people’s taxes to pay for soaring debts, the government can use the remaining 70% of its budget for three more PPP projects, he said. Local banks are now aggressively granting loans for 12-20 years, he said, as opposed to five years formerly.
Moreover, Espiritu said that most projects before were unsolicited, thus less transparent and less competitive. In advocating for more solicited projects, he said, there will be more transparency, and more competition. He mentioned the Tarlac, Pangasinan and La Union Expressway or TPLEX as a real example of a PPP project. He added that with PPP, projects cost 30-40% less than traditional sole government projects.
Citing his having been a long time fighter against corruption, Madrasto said the priority projects that the PCA will propose to President Aquino will be bidded out openly. For his part, Espiritu believes the President will approve it, labeling the model as “daang matuwid” (a straight path), one of the electoral campaign slogans of the President-elect.
