Arroyo loses cool over tollways

President Arroyo reportedly lost her cool again the other day, this time over the yearlong delay in the rehabilitation of the North and South Luzon tollways, where monstrous traffic jams are a daily occurrence.

During a meeting of her executive committee at Ma-lacañang, the President showed her irritation to officials of the state-run Philippine National Construction Corp. (PNCC) led by chairman Rolando Macasaet and president and chief executive officer Luis Sison.

Sison dismissed the reported dressing down they got from the President as "part of a campaign to discredit me."

"I am the one who’s being targeted," he told The STAR.

He admitted, though, that Mrs. Arroyo was "a little hotheaded because of the condition of the road," referring to the two tollways.

Also present at the meeting were Executive Secretary Alberto Romulo, Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes, Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Avelino Cruz, Presidential Management Staff Secretary Silvestre Afable, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Eduardo Ermita and Presidential Adviser on Special Concerns Norberto Gonzales.

Emerging from the meeting, one of the Cabinet officials said Mrs. Arroyo "really wants to improve the North and South diversion roads which would also decongest traffic in Metro Manila."

The President herself has repeatedly experienced the slow and bumpy ride along the two tollways in her regular visits to provinces north and south of Metro Manila.

The PNCC officials blamed "technical problems" and lack of funding for the acquisition of right of way for the delay by almost one year of the rehabilitation and expansion of the tollways.

The President, however, brushed aside their justification and ordered them to start working soon.

Sison said the rehabilitation is set to start late next month as the developer, the Manila North Tollway Corp. (MNTC), has ironed out the kinks.

MNTC is a joint venture of the Lopez Group of Companies, the PNCC and the French firm Egis, reputedly the largest tollway company in Europe.

On the other hand, Sison said the project contractor, Leighton of Australia, has invested 10 percent equity in PNCC.

Sison also said the executive committee meeting at the Palace tackled complaints filed by "disgruntled" losers in the bidding of franchises to operate gas stations along the expressways.

Sison defended the result of the bidding, saying it was conducted "aboveboard."

"We followed all the procedures. We’ll submit the terms of reference to Malacañang," he said.- Marichu Villanueva