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He carefully stirred his morning brew, sipped and felt a rush of heat come into his system. Wistfully, he took a quick shower, donned his office clothes and rode a jeepney to the nearest train station to come to work.

But, he was unfortunate that day. Monday’s rush had him praying that he would catch the early-morning train before the crowd gets unruly. His usual commute requires him to rise by 4 a.m. to catch the 5:30 a.m. jeepney going to the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 1’s Central station in Manila from his house in Sampaloc.

He usually rides two railway systems to get to his office in McKinley in Taguig City: the LRT 1 and the infamous Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Line 3.

“I take the LRT Central station to Edsa station route from LRT 1. Then I transfer to the MRT station in Taft then get off at Magallanes station. I then take another public transportation to my office in McKinley in Taguig,” he said, eyes shot upward, while remembering his daily commute.

Sometimes, he said, he rides the Philippine National Railways going to Magallanes. He takes the early-morning ride from España, Manila, to Makati City.

Daily commute, he said, usually takes about an hour and a half to about two hours, if the traffic is bad.

But that particular Monday, he said, was a nightmare. The traffic along España was congested to the point that his feet were itching to brave the streets and walk along the busy arteries of the capital. España is home to the University of Santo Tomas, which is a kilometer or two away from the Far Eastern University and the University of the East. The thoroughfare itself is found along the unversity belt.

He arrived at a quarter past 6 at Central Station.

“I had to improvise. I squeezed my way through the queue of the LRT. I didn’t mind that I will have to stand along the crowded train coach for more than 15 minutes just to get to the office,” Lopez said, laughing with the thought.

By then, sweat started to trickle down his chin, with the sweltering heat of the summer and the combined body heat of the passengers inside the train. His office clothes started to have paintings of perspiration—from his and the lady standing beside him.

“I have my handkerchief ready. I have no choice but to do it, because if I don’t I’ll be late, and I’ll get a demerit,” he said. “This is just one of the challenges that I have to face. I try to avoid those who are perspiring too much.”

Finally, he arrived at his train stop and transferred to the next train line. He started to queue once more. Thankfully, the queue was much shorter, he said.

After a grueling morning of commute, Lopez finally arrived at his office. He rushed to the bathroom to freshen up.

Despite all this, the tech specialist still continues to put the train lines as his first choice of transportation mode.

“They are still the fastest way to get to the office. The traffic is just too bad, if you ask me,” Lopez explained.

He is just one of the millions of Filipinos who use the country’s train systems daily. The railway lines were developed during the last century, with the oldest overhead train system in Asia, the LRT Line 1, still standing up to date. This transportation mode is seen as the best way to combat the congestion along major arteries in Manila and its neighboring cities, but this transportation mode is also experiencing bottlenecks on themselves.

Infrastructure has long been the weak spot of the Philippine economy. Losses from traffic costs due to the lack of infrastructure amount to about P2 billion daily, a figure that could shoot up to as high as P6 billion in 20 years, according to the Japan International Cooperation Agency.

Should these problems persist, Manila will see a giant parking lot along its major roads during rush hours. The only way to combat this is to increase capital spending in infrastructure, experts said.

Indeed, the government has moved to increase its budget for the sector, with an P826-billion capital target for 2016. This, Economic Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said, would hopefully translate into revenue growth in the long run.

“In recent years, the Philippines has seen stellar economic growth and critical structural reforms transforming the country’s image in the international development community from the ‘Sick Man of Asia’ to one of the most economically dynamic, fast-growing countries. One of the government’s strategies to sustain this robust economic performance and the improved confidence among the international business community is to accelerate infrastructure development as stipulated in the Philippine Development Plan,” he said.

In line with this, various master plans have been formulated to guide the development and implementation of infrastructure projects and other development interventions. These plans are translated into priority programs and projects that are currently being implemented and will be started within the medium term by national government agencies, government-owned and -controlled corporations, government financial institutions and other government offices.

According to the Comprehensive and Integrated Infrastructure Program for the years 2013 to 2016, and beyond, the priority programs and projects for the infrastructure sector comprise a total of 3,077 projects, with total investment requirements of about P6.58 trillion. Of this investment requirement, a total of nearly P3 trillion is allocated for the development of the country’s transport system covering air, land and water; P1.37 trillion is for social infrastructure to ensure the protection of public health and the environment, improvement of access to quality health and education facilities, and access to decent housing and services; over P1 trillion is for the equitable and efficient management of water resources to ensure adequate, safe and sustainable water for all; P847 billion is for sustainable, diverse and reliable energy sources; and P89 billion is for the provision of fast, reliable and affordable information and communications technology.

But, this is not enough, economic managers once argued, leading to the formulation of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Program, which is currently headed by Executive Director Cosette V. Canilao, a former bank executive.

This initiative aims to boost public infrastructure spending by tapping private-sector participation in public infrastructure development. Through private-sector investments under the country’s pioneering key infrastructure program, public resources can be freed up and be utilized for the provision of much-needed social services.

The program, as in any new initiative, was launched with a slow start, owing to the needed reforms by several agencies and the lead time to lay down the plans for the country’s infrastructure policy measure. It was launched in 2010, a few months after President Aquino assumed office in June that year.

Its first three years saw only a few projects being auctioned off, and a few more being drawn up. The PPP Center passed through a rough road during these years, as regulatory and legal issues sprout like mushrooms, spreading like wildfire. By 2014 the center and the implementing agencies of the projects have learned valuable lessons, enough to make the process of procurement and market sounding faster.

As of today, it has awarded and signed nine infrastructure contracts with an indicative total price tag of P133.4 billion. Some of these projects were won by consortium of big companies by offering premium bids—or offers that allow the government to generate instant revenue for just
awarding the project to the proponents.

A few months away from bidding goodbye to her post, Canilao and her team are pushing projects out of the robust pipeline of PPP deals and are trying to sustain the momentum that the government has achieved throughout its six-year tenure.

Several implementing agencies are currently tendering 14 deals that are on the list of the government’s priority projects.

But these might be put into peril as the administration is set to step down in 2016. History dictates that changes in the country’s heads carry necessary setbacks in reforms and projects. This, according to several businessmen, bankers and government officials might put a shadow of doubt in the current administration’s infrastructure initiative.

Risks are heightened when an administration passes the crown to another, Marsh Ltd. Senior Vice President for Asia Infrastructure Practice John Holmes told the BusinessMirror.

“Any change in administration presents heightened risk around uncertainty of honoring existing contracts. However, we are confident that the progress in PPP delivery will continue,” he explained.

This places Filipinos like Lopez at the losing end. 

Source: Business Mirror