By Arra B. Francia
IT WOULD TAKE the Duterte administration at least three years before the country starts to see the rollout of his massive infrastructure program, considering the regulatory and bureaucratic hurdles it faces, according to property consultancy Pronove Tai.
“From planning to actually getting from bidding, you have CoA (Commission on Audit) and all of this right of way (issues) that would take around three years. Now until 2020, it’s all planning. By the time he starts scratching the ground for his infrastructure it’s already 2020,” Pronove Tai Chief Executive Officer Monique Cornelio-Pronove said in a quarterly briefing in Makati on Wednesday.
“Then by the time it gets finished, that’s around three years to four years,” Ms. Pronove added, which means that the next president would have to oversee the projects’ completion.
The consultancy noted that any construction activities currently ongoing are still a spillover from the previous administration.
“The reality is, what you see right now where a lot of construction is being completed, that’s still a carry-over from the past administration. It cannot be that in one years’ time, he was able to build a bridge,” she said.
President Rodrigo R. Duterte earlier announced his plan of increasing infrastructure spending to P8.4 trillion in the next five years, which would bring its share to the country’s gross domestic product to 7.4% by 2022, up from 2016’s share of 4.7%.
The property consultancy noted that even when the projects are approved for construction, it would still have to deal with construction problems that currently hound the market, such as the lack of skilled labor.
Data from the Construction Industry Authority of the Philippines, an attached agency of the Department of Trade and Industry, states that it expanded its work force to 3.3 million in 2016, adding 675,000 workers during the period.
This number, however, may still be insufficient to meet the demand needed by the robust private real estate sector alongside the government’s infrastructure boom.
“He can fast track it, by getting a lot of laborers, by putting in a lot of technology,” Ms. Pronove noted.
The company said that these problems are currently being addressed by the government by providing necessary training through the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, while private firms are tapping the labor force in the provinces to meet the demand in Metro Manila.
“If our people can actually do three jobs, why not? And the thing is we are already seeing, if you just look around there are already foreign companies doing construction, if there’s no more people. But the thing is our people need to be flexible,” Ms. Pronove said.
THE Department of Agriculture (DA) said Hungary has provided a loan of some $500 million, initially planned to finance water treatment facilities.
“I have informed Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III of the Department of Finance to assist us on the discussion on how this money was transferred to the country,” Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said in a Wednesday statement.
Initially, DA is looking at Laguna de Bay as a pilot area for the proposed development of water treatment facilities.
Mr. Piñol added that fishing communities around Laguna de Bay can be tapped to manage the operations of the facilities.
“We welcome this development as we look up to how Hungary maintains good water quality. They have very advanced technologies,” he added.
Mr. Piñol also said he has informed Hungarian Ambassador to the Philippines Jozsef Bencze of his interest to allocate a portion of the said loan for the construction of the proposed Philippine rubber tire facility.
In addition, Mr. Piñol also reported that the Malacañang has approved the visit of rice experts from Hungary to study how the country plants rice during the dry season with the mission expected to start in November.
“We will show them how we plant rice during the season when there are no rains and we only use irrigated water,” Mr. Piñol added. — Janina C. Lim
A “GREEN” JEEPNEY is set to be unveiled on Thursday, highlighting the viability of converting a regular Sarao internal combustion engine into an electric vehicle.
QEV Philippines, a joint venture between the Philippines’ Endika Aboitiz and Spain’s Enrique Bañuelos, will introduce the zero-carbon emitting and full electricity-run vehicle after months of extensive research and development. The company is the local unit of QEV Capital Pte. Ltd.
Initially, the plan was to bring in QEV’s charging infrastructure with a complimentary market of e-vehicles, the company said in a statement.
“But when QEV’s principal investor first laid eyes on the jeepney, it was love at first sight. In his resolve, he had a Sarao jeepney sent to Spain for extensive research and development, so they can study how it can be converted from an internal combustion engine into electric,” QEV Philippines added.
“After more months of local research, a team of Spanish engineers then flew to the Philippines to start work on the conversion. Today, that jeepney is now a green jeepney, having zero-carbon emissions and running 100% on electricity,” it said.
The green jeepney’s debut will be at the Bonifacio Ballroom, Shangri-La at The Fort, Bonifacio Global City.
QEV Capital’s subsidiary QEV Technologies will be partnering with and assisting local jeepney manufacturers in the engine conversions.
“Sarao Motors, Inc. will be one of these partners,” QEV said.
It said the charging stations for the e-vehicles would also be made widely available. Asea Brown Boveri (ABB), which produces universal charging stations, is QEV Philippines technological partner.
“As for the initial network of charging station locations, QEV Philippines is in serious talks with Shell, Ayala, and SM. AboitizPower will provide the supply of renewable energy that will be used to power these charging stations, thus reducing overall carbon footprint,” the company said. — Victor V. Saulon
AGRICULTURE Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said he intends to submit a report to President Rodrigo R. Duterte recommending ways to prevent mining from affecting agricultural land.
The measure follows complaints in Zambales, where mining has allegedly affected local fishing grounds.
He said his proposal will involve assessing a mine’s impact on water resources. “Will it spoil our water source that provides water for irrigable agriculture? Will it result in soil erosion or a tailings spill?” similar to what happened in Zambales, Mr. Piñol said in a phone interview on Wednesday.
Mr. Piñol said that some miners in the province have been accused of contaminating fishing grounds.
“The cases cited prove that there have been negative effects on agriculture,” he added, noting that the agency has deployed a team to validate the incidents.
Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) Central Luzon Region Officer-in-charge Director Lope O. Cariño disputed the claims, and asked the Department of Agriculture to provide a detailed report on mining’s role in water contamination
“They need to provide proof and submit a report so we can validate the research,” Mr. Cariño said in a phone interview yesterday.
Under the Philippine Mining law of 1995, mining firms are charged a semi-annual fee for damage to land, crops and forest resources, marine life and aquatic resources, and cultural resources, among others.
For his part, MGB Assistant Director Danilo U. Uykieng said that the Environmental Impact Assessment conducted during the application process of mining companies,among other projects, also accounts for agricultural land that may be affected.
“Those concerns have been addressed for some time now,” Mr. Uykieng said in phone interview yesterday. — Janina C. Lim
