The will to complete a task

As I stated in my last column, all sorts of dirty tactics are resorted to by political candidates to put down their rivals. That’s what I thought when I read that House Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. was being accused by his competitor, Dagupan Mayor Benjamin Lim, of vote-buying when he was in fact distributing Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats membership cards with corresponding insurance benefits. That false charge was actually a piece of cake when one considers what the mayor had offered Joe in exchange for his (Lim) withdrawing his candidacy for congressman in the fourth district of Pangasinan. And that is — that Joe will give him the assurance that Joe will allow Lim’s son, Brian, to run unopposed for Dagupan mayor. That demand is something the Speaker cannot swallow.

First of all, Brian has never held an elective post — and running the city’s affairs requires political  savvy. The second point is that, although Joe did not mention this at the press conference in the city up north, the one he is supporting for Dagupan mayor has held that position I believe, for two terms, until he was appointed Immigration Commissioner — Al Fernandez. It will be difficult for Dagupenos not to vote for a well qualified and respected public servant like Al.

Joe’s record as a legislator has shown him head and shoulders above his colleagues, and I’m sure the voters of his district realize that.

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When I was that high, I used to hear my elders say: "Kung gusto, may paraan, kung ayaw, may dahilan." A rough English translation of this Tagalog saying is, "If there’s a will, there’s a way."

Let me now connect that age-old adage to the unfolding drama in Central Luzon with the P21-billion Subic-Clark Expressway (SCTEx) at center stage. The key players are: the project proponent state-run Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) as producer, two Japanese contractors as road builders sharing the stellar billing, and a multinational engineering consultant in a cameo role.

The Macapagal-Arroyo administration raised the curtain signaling the start of the SCTEx construction in 2005, with civil engineers having divided what was envisioned as the country’s longest toll road at 94 kilometers into two segments (also called packages).

The contract to Package 1 (the 50.5-km. Subic to Clark portion) went to the KOJM (read that Kajima-Obayashi-JFE Engineering-Mitsubishi Heavy Industries) joint venture; while the contract for Package 2 (the 44-km. Clark to Tarlac stretch) was awarded to the Hazama-Taisei-Nippon Steel (HTN) consortium.

Somehow the two Japanese contractors could not get their act together, and civil work went off with an uneasy, if not tentative start. KOJM appeared to have started on the wrong foot as project engineers reported that the contractor had a late start — delayed by as much as three months.

If I got my facts right, the architects of this significant project vaunted as the linchpin of accelerated economic growth of the region, have pre-determined the period of construction in relation to the amount of work involved. Thus, under the original schedule, Package 1 had a longer period that  expires this November, while Package 2 was expected to be completed his August, or four months earlier.

One doesn’t have to be a licensed engineer to know that a 90-day delay could drastically upset the SCTex timetable. Compounded by other serious lapses such as failure to use brand- new machines in violation of a contract provision, KOJM’s delay or slippage as the engineers prefer to call it, was further aggravated.

I have been keeping a close watch on the goings-on at the SCTex. More or less, I know which contractor is doing well and which is not.

To be specific, the KOJM appears to be in dire straits trying to sweep under the rug its shortcomings in the construction of Package 1 and has asked for no less than a year’s extension of its contract. Needless to say, granting it would mean additional unplanned expenditure in additional cost of the SCTex, unless the penalty clauses for slippage are applied. We don’t know about that for sure.

The KOJM is  seen to be doing everything in its power to pressure the BCDA into yielding to its extension bid, including triggering a media hype on the issue, and blaming right-of-way cases for probably its own failures.

Finding the real cause is not that difficult. The real reason did not escape the eye of project engineer Pacific Consultants International, Katahira & Engineers International and Nippon Koei Co. Ltd. The consortium evaluated that the contractor did not deserve an extension, because of its failure to deploy efficient men and machines to do the job properly and failure to implement catch-up plans, among other reasons.

As if providential, the contractor of the Clark to Tarlac Package, HTN, which promptly started its job, stepped forward to declare that, in all likelihood, it can beat its August deadline and deliver Package 2 on time.

KOJM should get back to the BCDA and tell them that they too can beat their construction deadline.

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My e-mail:[email protected]