Has Transco scrapped their e-bidding so soon?

Indeed, last Monday’s Business Section of the STAR headlined the report that RP investment climate is one of the worst in Southeast Asia according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Perhaps it is high time for the Arroyo administration to be reminded of what the American people reminded former President George Bush after he won the 1991 Gulf War… "It’s the economy stupid!" Thus, Bush lost his re-election bid to President Bill Clinton despite his overwhelming popularity winning the first US-Iraq war.

Surely, we ought to know that the only way to solve a bad investment is to create a better investment climate… right? Though it sounds simple, the problem really is to rid ourselves of old stereotypes,… promoted mostly by the left, who claim that being pro-business means being anti-labor. In the end, because too many people believe in that fallacious pro-Communist doctrine, even the labor arbiters in the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) are too pro-labor for our country’s own good. So why don’t we all focus and unite this nation for one purpose – create a pro-business climate. That means we should put our best foot forward and let a foreign direct investor (FDI) feel right at home in this country. Let’s try at the Atlas Mines in Toledo City by removing the red banners of the pro-left labor group who has camped there since 1994.

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Again, while we commend President Arroyo for her handling of the Oakwood uprising, we’d like to remind her that our nation is still very much in a state of crisis, not just rebellion. How do we solve the problem of coups, after coups after coups? Perhaps, Sen. Aquilino "Nene" Pimentel Jr. is right as reported in the Star last Friday that a federal form of government maybe the answer to military adventurism. Let me point out that here in Cebu, many agree with Sen. Pimentel that we should hold a constitutional convention with delegates elected in the 2004 elections, that means, their work is cut out for the Senate to ensure that this happens very soon.

Meanwhile, Sen. Pimentel believes that a Bangsamoro Federal State should take care of the Muslim minority. However, let me just remind the Senator from Mindanao that if only he read the website of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), they don’t even mention federalism as the solution to their cause, rather what the MILF wants is nothing short of a totalitarian theocracy. That means they intend to fragmentize the Philippines.

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Last July 30th, The National Transmission Corp. (Transco) conducted a historical first with its electronic bidding or e-bidding for the 33-kilometer undersea or submarine power cable from Tabango, Leyte to Daanbantayan, Cebu that would bring an additional 180 megawatts to the Visayas Grid which was won by the Kanematsu-J Power Systems Joint Venture at a price of P2.75 billion (US$68.48 million).

When I interviewed Assistant Secretary of Energy Lasse Holopainen on my TV show the other week, he was very elated with the success of the e-bidding as it is the most transparent bidding process ever conducted by the government, especially when government have scant resources for many of its projects, thus we could ill-afford to waste our precious tax money.

On Aug. 15th, there’s another big bidding coming our way, this time it’s for the still-controversial Cebu-Mactan Interconnection which is expected to cost some US$40 million. I say it’s still controversial because the reason why this project is so expensive is due to the fact that this will be totally constructed underground. If this project were constructed above ground, this would only cost us a mere P30 million, not US$40 million. So the question still begging to be answered is, why are we buying a Rolls Royce when a Kia Pride can do the job?

Todate, Transco hasn’t fully satisfied our curiosity as to which is the more practical and least expensive way to build this. Either way, let me point out, someone ends up paying for those expensive bills, and yes, it’s not going to be the foreign consultants who obviously want us to spend on bigger infrastructure projects so that they can squeeze more money out of the taxpayers! No doubt, having those power lines built underground is a dream, but the cost is just too staggering, because after all, Juan dela Cruz still pays the bills!

But what triggered my alarm bells was that the reason Transco insisted on going underground was a little-known Cebu City ordinance, which mandates utilities to put their power lines underground. But I’ll have you know that this Cebu City only ordinance isn’t applicable in Mandaue City nor in Lapu-Lapu City where this project will be constructed. This is why we’re asking the question, why are we using a Cebu City ordinance as an excuse for a project that’s not in Cebu City?

Is it possible that Transco may be ramming this on our throats, after all, they’re running out of time and no one wants to delay this project any longer than it should? Like it or not, I smell something fishy and Transco ought to give us a better explanation before it’s too late!

However the bigger question to ask Transco is: why will this bidding not follow the supposedly successful July 30 electronic bidding? Yes, we were really surprised when Transco officials revealed that the coming Aug. 15 bidding would be through the usual sealed envelope. Why in heavens are they going back to the old ages? Whatever happened to their electronic bidding? Have they so soon abandoned it? Will someone please explain this to us?

If they were prepared to bid the previous project through electronic bidding, why didn’t Transco prepare an electronic bidding for the latter project? Pardon me if my alarm bells are ringing ever so wildly, but someone has to explain this to the Cebuanos! To us sealed envelope bids should have been history… after all, it only breed corruption. Hence, for Transco’s sake, the Aug.15 bidding should be done electronically, otherwise…!

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For e-mail responses to this article, write to [email protected]. Bobit Avila’s columns can also be accessed through www.thefreeman.com. He also hosts a weekly talkshow entitled, "Straight from the Sky" shown every Monday only in Metro Cebu on Channel 15 on SkyCable at 8 p.m.