A recommendation made 9 years too early....

Sent:      Thursday, May 13, 2004 5 07 PM
To:           mayor_atienza@cityofmanila.com. ph
Subject: Urban Renewal Project

Dear Mayor Atienza,

This early, let me congratulate you on your re-election as Manila Mayor by handily winning over your opponent on a strong platform of performance and reforms.
To buckle down to the issue at hand, I would like to introduce myself as a maritime consultant that has had
some years of experience in the domestic  maritime trade.   One of the most glaring impediments to the development of our national economy is the centralized control of our ports, specially those that cater to our domestic needs.

Anywhere  in the modern world, you see that ports and their management are largely in the hands of local
private and government units.  This is because it is the local community that is immediately affected by the port, its policies and its operations.   I believe that in the hands of local officials, the port would  be more of an asset than a liability to the local community. The famous World Trade Center and a large area of New York and New Jersey, centered on the Statue of Liberty is under the New York Port Authority.
For example, it is a very natural tendency for squatters to cluster immediately wherever  new ports are built by the PPA. That is because the agency does not bother to coordinate with the local executives regarding the interface of the new port with the local municipality.  Invariably, you see that most of these new ports become congested at the entrance in a matter of a few years, making access to the port very difficult.  In a sense, the PPA ports invariably become barriers to trade and the economy, rather than being a port of entry for commerce.

It has come to our attention that the PPA has had some tax liabilities with the City of Manila.  How true is it that the redemption period for the PPA properties have already expired?  Ian not really sure about this information, and that is why I am raising this project up in the hope that somehow the information is correct.
The North Harbor of Manila has something like 52 hectares west of the R-10 road.  The South Harbor has 58 hectares west of Bonifacio Drive.  Accross Bonifacio Drive, there is the Intramuros that is developed  by the PTA.  However, across R-10, that is already a part of  Tondo and this is an area very conducive to an urban renewal project, considering that the area has been parceled out to numerous low-income household owners and even squatters.   Easily, there could be some 100 has. within the area that could be the subject of a long term urban renewal project for the City.

A study funded  by the USAID has found out that the current port operations are most inefficient because of the preoccupation of the PPA to promote more cargo handling  operations over more efficient modes of operation. This is understandable considering that the agency earns revenues from cargo handling operations.
However, this  aberration has already caused sea transport costs to be bloated way beyond what is reasonable.

Almost 50% of the cost of moving cargo within the Philippine ports is traceable to some form of cargo handling operation!  It is highly inefficient and inflationary.  Inefficient because of the delay and damage to cargo caused by multiple handling systems. Inflationary because the cargo handling services are over-priced and sometimes not even rendered, but still collections are made. (Just like tong collections.)
Executive Order 170 signed by the President over a year ago has called for the implementation of the Roll­
On/Roll-Off (RORO) technology in order to bring about drastic reductions in our sea transport costs.  EO 170 is directed at private investors and Local Government Units (LGUs) as the prime movers of the RORO
implementation. These intended initiatives are supported with a PhP 90 billion fund by the DBP called Sustainable Logistics Development Program (SLDP). But with the non-implementation of the RRTS, only some favored political allies are perceived to have been beneficiaries of the fund.
Under EO 170 the City of Manila can link up with private investors in promoting RRTS.  PPA is mandated to privatize these government owned piers once converted into RORO operations. However, because of the  vested interests of PPA and the major shipping and cargo handling operators in the country, the implementation of the Road RORO Terminal System (RRTS) has been railroaded into what is now called the Strong Republic Nautical Highway (SRNH).  I am not sure whether the President is fully aware of this diversion, but more than a year after the EO was signed, not a single RRTS terminal has been identified and declared as such by the PPA.

For your information, the conversion to RORO operations for domestic sea transport would release a large
portion of the existing 52 has. at the North Harbor as there is no longer a need for large storage areas
for cargo.  The container yards located near the Harbor will no longer be necessary for cargo consolidation and container yard operations.  These freed areas can be converted to more economically productive facilities.

I am also in touch with the UP School of Urban and Rural Planning and they too are very interested in pursuing this project if indeed the City of Manila is interested in pursuing the same.  We look forward to be of some assistance if this project would find a place in your plans for your new term.

Thank you for your attention.