Unresolved mystery

Well, we have to give it to them. Newbreak came and left with a bang.

Newsbreak’s farewell issue this week regarding the unresolved problem that is the NAIA Terminal 3 tells us why this problem is so controversial. It has all the elements of a mystery novel.

The piece was exhaustive in explaining the various issues that hound this white elephant. Written by Roel Landingin, also a correspondent for the Financial Times, the lead article dwelt on the possible courses of action open for the government, and the contending parties. It talks about the various cases filed by Piatco and Fraport against the Philippine government to recover their supposed investment in NAIA. While the government legal panel is fighting tooth and nail to win the battles before the international arbitration bodies, others seem to be singing a different tune – dismissing an anti-dummy complaint brought against Piatco and Fraport. That anti-dummy complaint stemmed from what had been reported as the disproportionate investments of the two partners in the building of the NAIA 3.

The dismissal of several complaints filed related to the controversy filed here "have given rise to suspicions that Malacañang is interested only in the commercial resolution of the case that will affirm its right to take over and operate the air terminal, not in the prosecution and punishment of people who committed illegal acts. For the government, the most important point is to open NAIA-3 as soon as possible and eventually turn it over to private operators, not jailing suspected criminals behind the project," the article said.

This perceptive take on the skewed focus of the government, according to the article, can be gleaned from the way the "investigative agencies of the executive department" had dismissed one case after another related to the controversy. The anti-dummy complaint cited above that was filed by lawyer Jose Bernas was dismissed early last month by the Department of Justice. Before this, the DOJ also "withdrew a case already filed in court accusing Piatco of attempting to create a monopoly."

"Even the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR)," the article said, "has desisted from trying to prosecute Jefferson Cheng, president of the Philippine Airport & Ground Services Terminals Inc., the Cheng family holding company that owns the bulk of Piatco, for failing to submit company documents and records in connection with the BIR’s tax fraud investigation." The article also cited a significant decision of the Supreme Court (SC) related to the controversy.

The High Court had reversed a decision allowing the Anti-Money Laundering Council’s bid to open 17 bank accounts belonging to Piatco and Fraport officials. The reversal upholds an injunction barring probers from examining bank accounts that may have been used to move money that went to bribe government officials into approving the NAIA 3 deal or parts of it," the article continued. This is deemed significant especially in the light of what had been smoked out before in the hearings that the Senate conducted related to the controversy. A case in point is the role that a PR practitioner played in the building of the infrastructure.

Doubtless, the controversy is nowhere near to a resolution as it is to the planned soft opening this first quarter. There are many court cases that overlap each other, not to mention the possible action in two cases that Piatco and Fraport AG brought before the International Chamber of Commerce arbitration panel in Singapore and the International Court for the Settlement of Investment Dispute in Washington, DC. There are also several cases that are docketed in the Pasay City court, the Sandiganbayan, the Court of Appeals and the SC.

The resolution of the NAIA 3 controversy could only be made with none of the contending parties expecting total victory or defeat, as per the assertion of the article. There is a looming compromise settlement that would have to be eked out between and among the contending parties And according to the Newsbreak piece, a commercial compromise that would mean " a less-than-perfect solution may be the only way to open NAIA-3. " And one that would have to gloss over the violations that attended the terminal’s construction.

A push for biofuels

The Philippine Fuel Ethanol Alliance, an advocacy group that successfully lobbied for the passage of the Biofuels Law, is now asking lawmakers to pass a more comprehensive law covering all renewable energy, to include those that can be applied to the power sector. The group says that it is the most appropriate time for the Philippines to pass the bill to reflect growing opinion about the comprehensive merits of renewable energy.

The Ethanol Alliance cites the recent State of the Union Address delivered by US President George W. Bush, who harked about America’s need to diversify energy supply. Bush, known to have a soft stance on renewable sources of energy, supported revolutionary solar and wind technologies that will reduce overall demand for fossil fuels and lead to lower energy costs.

To implement such renewable energy-focused policy, the White House reportedly will propose in the 2007 budget a new $148-million Solar America Initiative – an increase of $65 million over last year – to accelerate the development of semiconductor materials that convert sunlight directly to electricity. According to the White House, these solar photovoltaic "PV" cells can be used to deliver energy services to rural areas and can be incorporated directly into building materials, so that there can be future "zero energy" homes that produce more energy than they consume.

Another policy focus is to expand clean energy from wind. The US’ 2007 budget includes $44 million for wind energy research – a $5-million increase over 2006 levels. The budget aims to help improve the efficiency and lower the costs of new wind technologies for use in low-speed wind environments.

For the Ethanol Alliance, these initiatives from the Bush administration, who bluntly addressed the issue of climate change for the first time, is a clear indication that the Philippines should already step up efforts to promote and pursue non-conventional, alternative sources of energy for the power sector.

The group says that the Philippines can tap proven sources of renewable energy such as wind, solar, geothermal, and biomass and promote them further to achieve energy independence and address climate changes.

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