Rama: Congress probe delaying airport project

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama yesterday complained that the congressional inquiry on the P17.5-billion Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) expansion plan has caused further delay on the implementation of the long-overdue project.

"Do we deserve this whole confusion, which is bringing our country or Cebu damnation? Do we deserve this whole shenanigan? This is not the time that people will be more confused. This is the time that clarity should be made," he said.

Rama said whoever won the bidding process should already be awarded the project.

"If (there are) people (who) are being maligned, unnecessarily destroyed, they have their lawyers.  Let them file whatever legal remedies available. (But) let the people be spared from all these shenanigans," Rama said.

The GMR-Megawide consortium tendered the highest bid for the multi-billion MCIA terminal public-private partnership project.

Second-highest bidder Filinvest-Changi consortium, however, filed a complaint against GMR for allegedly violating Pre-bidding and Awards Committee (PBAC) regulations.

Filinvest alleged that GMR worked with a bidder, Malaysian Airports Holding Berhad's airport affiliates, which violated the bid rules provision that prohibits "a board member or partner of a bidder consortium member or its affiliates…from being directly involved in any capacity in the MCIA bid process for another bidder, consortium member and its affiliates."

Rama said expansion of the airport terminal is "badly needed and urgent,"  especially that major events happening in Cebu are already fast approaching, like the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) next year and the International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) in 2016.

"This is the time that our voices must be heard because we are contributing so much to this country's economy; we need the airport that would bring in tourists and enable us to prepare more for APEC and the IEC," Rama said.

In an unrelated development, Rama said the city's executive department is planning to negotiate with the bank that serves as conduit in its South Road Properties (SRP) loan for it to "restructure" the scheme of paying the amortization.

"This will ease us out and remove us from so much unbearable pain. If we will not stop this currency fluctuation, we will end up paying until 2025. We have to do something drastic," he said.

The City government made a loan in 1995 worth 12.315-billion yen or P6.5 billion from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), formerly the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, to develop the 300-hectare reclamation project now called SRP.

Fluctuations in the exchange rates, however, caused the loan to balloon to several billion pesos more.

Rama said the city already paid about P7 billion in amortization since 2001, but until now the city has still to pay JICA P3 billion.

"Maayo kaha na ?Nindot kaha na nga klasi nga kontrata? Dili gyod (Is this good?  Is that a good arrangement? I don't think so)," Rama said.

Last Feb. 20, the city paid its 19th amortization amounting to P218 million. The city pays its SRP loan twice a year.

Rama also said he was not happy that the national government continually receives a guarantee fee from the payment Cebu City makes for its SRP loans, saying he wants to stop it and divert the budgeted amount to funds meant for the construction of a new CCMC building. —/RHM (FREEMAN)