Fix MRT 3 before EDSA

The technocrats and bureaucrats at DPWH are just being true to form. They are ready to sacrifice millions of people to horrendous traffic jams in a simple minded thrust to fix EDSA. The facetious comment was even made that they are only following instructions to pump prime the economy. Never mind that the project is obviously ill-advised, the people be damned!

Luckily P-Noy asked the right questions and found the answers inadequate. So the massive remaking of EDSA has been rightfully indefinitely postponed. The President wants to be convinced that whatever sacrifices being demanded from the people have been properly and adequately mitigated.

EDSA traffic is horrible as it is right now without sacrificing at least two lanes at a time for the rehabilitation project. The key question is, where will all those people, all those vehicles go? How will they get to where they need to go?

The claim of DPWH Sec. Babes Singson that they have prepared side streets where motorists can detour is sheer bullshit. We all know that all possible ways of avoiding EDSA are now being fully utilized by motorists.

We have become “experts” in “short cuts” through the narrow streets of Mandaluyong, San Juan, Quezon City and Makati. In fact, these “short cuts” have become more problematic than EDSA itself. If DPWH wants something useful to do, they should build more bridges across the Pasig River. That should help ease traffic jams on EDSA.

What our public officials should have done before they foisted on us their stupendous plan for EDSA is to have alternative ways of enticing people out of their cars and using mass transport instead. But the only real mass transit that car riders may even consider, the MRT, is itself a near hopeless case waiting for a major accident to happen.

The way it looks, no such ambitious plan to remake EDSA is possible until after someone fixes MRT 3. By this I mean, adding more rail cars, fixing the infrastructure itself (rails, signaling system, stations, proper maintenance done on existing rail cars). The crowding in stations and overloading of rail cars must be addressed.  

All that means it would take no less than three years before EDSA can get the fixing that DPWH Sec. Babes Singson wants to do by May this year. I saw an interview of DOTC Sec. Joseph Abaya on ANC and he said they are on the verge of buying ownership of MRT 3 and P-Noy is about to sign the EO to cover that. Only after that happens can things start moving for MRT 3.

Lucky for everyone, MPIC, the company that has control of the original MRTC that owns the system, has come out to say that they will follow what the government wants to do. They won’t make any trouble that will tie up the system in legal knots.

It will be recalled that MPIC had offered the government $300 million to expand the capacity of the MRT 3 and carry the capital cost of rehabilitating the system. Instead of the government giving a subsidy to MRT 3, MPIC will give it cash instead.

I think allowing the private sector MPIC to work on the system is the neatest way of accelerating improvement. The executives at MPIC, under pressure to produce a return on investment, are necessarily action oriented compared to the risk-averse government lawyers who call the shots at DOTC. The private sector is also not bound by the cumbersome rules of government procurement.

So, perish the thought of having a modernized MRT 3 before P-Noy leaves office.  Even the measly four kilometer Masinag LRT 2 extension, a much less complicated project, may be very much delayed.

DOTC announced it will conduct a rebidding for the P350-million consultancy contract for the LRT 2 Masinag Extension project. Only one prospective bidder managed to obtain a business permit in time for the submission of eligibility documents.

That reason for the failure of bidding, most of the bidders presented 2012 Mayor’s permits, is also ridiculous. Considering the date for the submission of documents was Jan. 7, 2013 it was only to be expected they could only submit the 2012 permits.

The logical thing would have been to accept the 2012 permits and require the 2013 be submitted for the final bidding. Nowhere in the bid documents did it say it required 2013 Mayor’s Permit. The 2012 permits are valid until Jan. 20 so what was the big deal? Are the members of the Bids and Awards Committee inexperienced or there are just too many self important lawyers?

As it turns out, it is a mistake for DOTC to call for a design consultancy first instead of a design and build contract, according to my usually reliable sources. They told me it looks like there is an intention to dribble the ball in the implementation of the project.

The consultancy contract will basically deliver a detailed engineering design. It will be the basis for a detailed cost estimate with Bill of Quantities and very precise engineering drawings (number and size of steel bars per column and girder, electrical circuitry on the tracks and stations, etc.).

When the engineering design job is completed (which is about 12 months from now), DOTC can then use that for bidding out the construction. This new bidding will take at least nine months (if the people at DOTC are experienced, but allow for 12 months given the lawyers at the top). 

The Constructor will perform the civil works in accordance with the design. He will not be responsible for faulty design; it will be the Design Engineer. So when a structure fails, there will be finger-pointing: who was responsible, the Constructor or the Design Engineer.

Add another 24 months to the actual construction, and you are already in January 2017!

 My sources tell me that if DOTC wants to accelerate completion, they can conduct a Design-and-Build tender. This will eliminate 12 months from the procurement process. This was the same approach adopted for the LRT North Loop project so that Ate Glue can take that ceremonial ride to inaugurate the project before she bows out. And she did.

With what DOTC is doing now, it seems they are making sure that P-Noy will not have the opportunity of having a ride - ceremonial or not – on the LRT 2 extension.

 My source told me the same delays will occur on the LRT 1 extension to Cavite. He offered to treat me to a sumptuous dinner if DOTC manages to complete this long-delayed project by June 2016.

While DOTC published a proposed schedule, they haven’t given out the tender documents yet so the schedule is meaningless. How can bidders submit queries on Feb. 6 when they haven’t seen these tender documents?

If they are flubbing LRT 1 and 2 where government ownership is not a question, I guess using MRT 3 to help ease the burden of an EDSA overhaul is simply not possible. Maybe, one other idea --- using the Pasig River ferries --- is more doable but of limited effect.

They should follow my earlier suggestion of rushing the completion of the NLEX-SLEX connector roads and accelerating work on C-6. They can also improve the radial or East-to-West roads like Shaw Boulevard and Ortigas Avenue so that vehicles from Quezon City, Pasig and Antipolo don’t have to use EDSA to get to Manila.

In any case, I like how P-Noy used his common sense and listened to the people when he ordered Babes Singson’s harebrained idea stopped until further studies are made. DPWH has the burden of convincing him and the public that the project is absolutely necessary at this time. DPWH must also show they have made enough provisions to minimize disruptions to people’s lives and livelihoods.

Perhaps, the EDSA rehab project is also the best opportunity to cut the number of buses on it by half. If LTFRB finds it difficult to cancel franchises, it should just bring down the bus fares to MRT 3 level so that it will require a higher load factor to make money. That will force many of the marginal operators to just give up on their own.

For now, thank you P-Noy for doing the sensible thing.

Love and marriage

And in this season of hearts, here’s something to remember for all you lovers out there thinking of moving up the next level.

Marriage is like a deck of cards.

In the beginning all you need are two hearts and a diamond.

By the end, you wish you had a club and a spade!

Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @boochanco