T-3 parking/MRT-6.5

The hottest topic in town for nearly a week has been all about the increased parking rates at the NAIA Terminal 3. The topic was so hot that it even overshadowed the ongoing congressional quad comm investigations.

The interesting part is that after all was said and done, it turns out that the NNIC decision was correct. By Wednesday, Oct. 2, images were circulating on social media featuring ample parking space at the T3 multiple level parking garage. Posts even mentioned the usually full ground level had available slots.

As humans it is understandable that we prioritize our needs and convenience. But as citizens, consumers and commuters, we Filipinos must start to accept and respect “purpose or design purpose.”

In the world of architecture and construction, there is constant discussion if not debate over “form” and “function”, Some say “form” must follow “function,” but among the irreverent “fashionistas” they will say “porma before function.”

In terms of buildings and service facilities such as parking lots, the T3’s primary purpose is to provide readily available parking space for airline passengers. Secondary clients would be the airport personnel involved in operations.

Some airline crew complained that they too need parking. That is something they should take up with their unions because there was a time when their benefits included shuttle service. Unbeknownst to many, there are still large areas outside the NNIC areas that belong to MIAA and leased to airlines, they have space.

Two other groups that create crowds and eat up parking space are the too many small locators as well as different law enforcement units and government agencies. Given their regular operating schedules in our airports, they too should be provided shuttle services and not have to use their private vehicles and park all day.

What came as a surprise to many was the revelation that there were also many car owners using the T3 parking but working or doing business outside T3. This is the same problem experienced by other establishments and even barangays in Metro Manila where people leave cars and walk to nearby offices without ever thinking about the inconvenience they cause others.

You may be wondering where is the MRT-6.5? Is this a new train project of the Marcos government? Is it some unannounced rail project? Where will it be passing through?

The truth is the MRT-6.5 is simply what I expect will happen when local politicians use their power to oppose a project designed and approved by the national government in order to redirect the project to favor powerful real estate developers and local investors. If you don’t want the completed version MRT-7 then you will get MRT-6.5.

Last Sept. 28, 2024, I wrote in my column that the MRT-7 will be delayed by a year or two because the LGU of San Jose del Monte, Bulacan had opposed the design of MRT-7 within their territory. This shocked many people, especially in the national government side, because the opposition should have been expressed many years before the project made its way towards SJDM, Bulacan.

Even future riders of the MRT-7 expressed their frustration because they themselves have made sacrifices by enduring the added traffic related to the on-going construction of MRT-7 that has been going on for years. To them, the opposition of the SJDM, Bulacan LGU simply means they now must wait even longer.

As many suspected, the SJDM LGU was not totally opposed to the MRT-7, they want to redirect it to become a strong added feature for up and coming commercial and residential real estate developments owned by big and influential companies.

The problem is, national development projects are not redesigned or moved around like chess pieces or bottle caps when playing “dama.” The MRT-7 is not just about routing, it involves environmental consideration, social and economic benefits to communities and the supply chain covered in the route. It involves project viability, cost and long-term operation and success, all of which impact future projects of government.

To change the final stretch of the MRT-7 would take a monumental task, require a couple of years of study with no guarantee if the revision would be viable. A redesign would require renegotiations between the government and those involved in various aspects of the construction, and then the builders would have to go to their investors, fund sources or creditors to explain the madness and renegotiate terms as well.

With all that in mind, there are no guarantees if the redesign and restudy would have the same or better outcomes than the current MRT-7 design. While all of that happens, what will the builders of the MRT-7 do? Do they stop at some junction and wait several years for a decision to arrive? Do they carry on building at the risk of being redirected or disapproved?

Well, they say that you cannot fight City Hall, especially in the Philippines, and on the other hand, you cannot run a business based on somebody else’s plans. That’s where MRT-6.5 comes in.

If the completion of the full length of the MRT-7 is now full of uncertainties due to the SJDM opposition, then the national government should either step in and impose National Interest or tell the builders to end the project somewhere in Fairview, Quezon City.

If MRT-7 gets shortened to MRT-6.5, I am certain that thousands of people in Bulacan will create such an uproar about their lost convenience. SJDM residents and voters will have to live with their politics, tricycles and jeepneys and NO MRT. We in the media will certainly have a field day reminding the public about who was behind it all.

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