President Aquino is confronted with this dilemma: If the results of the bidding already completed are sustained, then the award to the Ayala-Aboitiz consortium would result in an apparent P10-billion forgone income for the government. On the other hand, a rebid would tarnish the all-important public-private partnership (PPP) program and jeopardize its overall contribution to the government’s infrastructure ambitions, negating the P10-billion bonanza.
The positions taken by business organizations and individuals, whether for or against reaffirming the results of the completed bidding at issue, somehow, rightly or wrongly, are identified with the parties in interest, i.e., Ayala-Aboitiz et al. versus San Miguel Corp.-led Optimal Infrastructure consortium rather than seen as based on the basic issue: the near-term benefits of a P10-billion bonanza versus the long-term advantages of the reaffirmed credibility of the PPP program and the Philippine government as a whole, the worth of which predictably exceeding P10 billion.
To demonstrate:
- a) The opinions emanating from the Makati Business Club and from most, if not all, of the foreign trade organizations, appear to favor Ayala, Aboitiz et al. For example, that of former secretary Ramon del Rosario Jr. (chair of the Makati Business Club, concurrent director of Ayala Corp.).
- b) The opinions emanating from the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry appear to favor the “kabayan” entrepreneurs.
P-Noy must pierce through these not so subtle biases and refocus on the issues exclusively.—ALFREDO V. ASUNCION, avasuncion@hotmail.com