The Transportation Department seems to be in a hurry to hold the bidding for the P65.09-billion Light Rail Transit Line 6 project that seeks to further extend the LRT Line 1 to Dasmariñas from Bacoor, Cavite.
The private sector is wary that conducting the auction and awarding the project to the winning bidder before the May elections will be fraught with controversy and risks. Prospective bidders want the government to delay the auction of the project by six months, or after the election period.
One interested company—Metro Pacific Investments Corp.—wants the auction on the new rail line held after the election period, or once new officials are sworn in, from the original deadline of April 5.
“Our country is not good in continuity of government. When the new government comes, there’s always changes,” says a Metro Pacific official during the pre-qualification conference. “It feels that they are really rushing it. We want to look at and understand the project.”
The official’s comment best describes the bad reputation of the government in honoring contracts with the private sector. The government time and again has earned the ire of local and foreign investors after reneging on the terms of contracts earlier agreed with project proponents.
Maynilad Water Services Inc., for instance, sued the government before the international arbitration court in Singapore for not complying with the terms of the west zone service contract, after the water regulator refused to implement a rate increase. Maynilad’s case and other business disputes have raised questions on the integrity of contracts under the public-private partnership program of the Aquino administration.
The bidding for the Light Rail Transit Line 6 project, meanwhile, will be a closely-watched affair due to the presence of other notable bidders like San Miguel Corp. and Egis International of France.
Another misstep from the government will greatly reduce the state’s credibility in honoring contracts and cast serious doubt on the PPP program.
