P5.6-B fund for MRT 3, NAIA intact – Abaya

MANILA, Philippines - Transportation and Communications Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya assured the public yesterday that the P5.6-billion fund for the expansion of the Metro Rail Transit line 3 (MRT 3) and the rehabilitation of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) terminal 1 is intact.

In a text message, Abaya said the amount, including the P4.5 billion for the acquisition of 48 new trains, as well as the P1.16 billion for the rehabilitation of NAIA 1, is with the Bureau of Treasury.

In 2011, the Commission on Audit (COA) questioned the release of the fund for the MRT 3 expansion to the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA).

Released last month, the 2011 COA report said the DOTC released more than P5.6 billion to the LRTA to finance the MRT 3 System Capacity Expansion Project and to the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) for the rehabilitation of NAIA terminal 1.

State auditors said the funds were given to the two government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) despite the absence of Programs of Work (POW) and Cost Benefit Analysis.

The COA report said a POW “is an indispensable requirement that indicates the scope of works to be done, equipment/materials/items to be procured, the total project cost and the basis of the Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC).”

Abaya said the law requires the POW at the time of procurement and not at the time of transfer.

The DOTC does not conduct any procurement without the POW, he explained.

Abaya said the DOTC had submitted price estimates to the Department of Budget and Management for the MRT 3 project and to the Office of the President for the NAIA 1 rehabilitation project.

The DOTC prepared the technical specification and POW for the MRT 3 system expansion project and is now finalizing, together with the MIAA, the POW for the NAIA terminal 1 rehabilitation project, he added.

Abaya said the Department of Justice has issued an opinion stating that the Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB) has yet to issue the guidelines on Section 53.6 of Republic Act 9184, the Government Procurement Reform Act.

“The DOJ (Department of Justice) has opined that even as the GPPB has yet to issue the guidelines implementing Section 53.6 of the revised implementing rules and regulations, this does not preclude the application of the subject provision on the appointment of a procurement agent by a procuring entity,” he said.