After so much wrangling and fault-finding, the long-overdue plan to modernize the Subic Bay port and make it at par with international standards is about to take a leap from blueprint to implementation stage.
Since the Americans left the former naval facility in Zambales with the expiration of the bases treaty in 1992, government planners have envisioned the Subic port to be a highly competitive international service and logistics center in Southeast Asia providing efficient movement of travelers, products and services.
To translate this goal into a reality, the Harbour Centre Port Terminal Inc. (HCPT) submitted an unsolicited proposal to the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority to develop and manage parts of the former naval supply depot in the freeport.
With the HCPT’s offer, hopes have been rekindled to arrest the decline of the Subic port for the past two decades due to the failure of locators and cargo handlers to improve port facilities. They fell short of the commitment to make Subic a magnet for progress and development in Central Luzon. As a consequence of their neglect, five of Subic’s existing ports where they operate are in a state of disarray.
Before the SBMA could consider HCPT’s proposal, industry players were given the opportunity to match the company’s offer through a
“Swiss challenge” in conformity with bidding practices. SBMA Administrator Armand Arreza urged interested bidders to submit their counter-proposals not later than April 22 but no new offer was received by the Authority upon the lapse of the deadline. That means the SBMA was free to give due course to HCPT’s offer. If it has not done so yet, it is because of the existing ban on the awarding of government contracts during the election period.
Under the terms of its unsolicited proposal, the HCPT will handle port operations and invest about P6 billion for improvements and acquisition of new equipment to enhance the Subic port’s global competitiveness. This will encourage more foreign investors to come in.
The Harbour Centre commits itself to remit to SBMA a guaranteed income of $32 million over 25 years, or $1.2 million to $1.3 million a year.
The SBMA would likewise have a share of 15 to 20 percent of total revenues each year for 25 years. Part of the HCPT’s proposal is to substantially increase the volume of goods that will be traded in the Subic port which will generate bigger revenues for the SBMA.
These favorable terms are a far cry from what the SBMA earns under current cargo handling operations—less than P20 million a year plus a revenue share of 10-15 percent.
Detractors have criticized the proposed agreement between SBMA by raising the specter of a monopoly of cargo handling operations in the premier port at the expense of existing companies engaged in similar services.
Perhaps a more relevant question is whether it is wise and judicious to put an end to the domination of locators and cargo handlers whose neglect of the modernization needs of the Subic port has caused its stagnation.
If the existing operators find themselves being eased out, they have nobody to blame but themselves. They have not even bothered to undertake a comprehensive plan to upgrade facilities. The cargo handlers at the Boton, Rivera, Alava and Bravo ports did not feel obliged to invest part of their income for the upgrading program and transform these ports into big players in the economy.
Perhaps, they have the illusion that they have a franchise to the privilege and even proprietary right in running their business at Subic.
As Administrator Arreza succinctly put it: “The existing cargo operators have no exclusive rights to operate at the Subic port. If they want exclusive right, then they should submit their bids.” But as events have shown, they themselves forfeited this right by not submitting any counter-bid that would be more advantageous to the government than what the HCPT has offered. (Fel Maragay wrote this article in his column that appeared in Manila Standard Today)

This “awakening” is the good thing which was brought about by this law. Somehow, the government was able to catch their attention and show that they really mean business this time. I still remember our lecturer telling us that we are a lucky batch because starting “next year,” real-estate brokerage will already be a profession and aspirants to be practitioners will already have to take a four-year course! This was 20 years ago! And every year they say the same thing over and over again just to get enrollees to their seminars and reviews.
However, people were still caught by surprise when this act was signed into law on June 29, 2009. The surprise turned into fear when they learned about the limiting provisions of this law. This fear turned into anger when they realized that they were practically “cornered” by this law, seemingly helpless at present since there were no provisions for a smooth transition. These people I am referring to are the in-house sales people of most of the bigger developers. They have the impression that they are being forced into a situation where they have no choice but to turn to the few licensed brokers who were fortunate enough to renew their licenses just before the deadline last June.
Most developers feel that this law, with all its good intentions, only favors the existing active licensed real-estate brokers now but have neglected the existence and importance of the in-house sales organizations who are actually the ones who have played a major role in bringing Philippine real estate to where it is right now by bringing in the dollars through international sales and also promoting pre-selling real-estate investment locally as I have mentioned in Part 1 of this article.
The main reason for this is that there is nobody representing the sector of the in-house sales people during deliberations in real-estate councils like RESCOP, in the Congress and in the Senate during its public hearings. Presently, there are no existing associations or organizations which can act as the voice of these highly productive but unfortunately unrecognized workers. We consider the OFWs as the new heroes of the economy for being dollar earners, but we fail to recognize these agents who have significantly helped to convince these OFWs to invest their dollars in Philippine properties.
I have had several discussions already with some of the heads of the sales departments of the major developers and they have realized the need to have a formally organized body not only for proper representation for the practitioners categorized under the RESA law as the Real Estate Sales Person but also to eventually professionalize this level of practitioners by setting higher standards and observing their own Code of Ethics.
Last October 5, we signed the Memorandum of Agreement for the formation of FRESA or the Federation of Real Estate Associations. Parties to this include PAREB, REBAP, IPREA, PARA, IPREC, PARCS, CREBA & NREA. These are all associations of real-estate brokers, appraisers and consultants. All these practitioners are actually the direct beneficiaries of this law. Ironically, the sector of the Real Estate Sales Person which is duly recognized in the RESA law as one of the five classes of real-estate practitioners, and the one which is most adversely affected by this law, especially the existing in-house agents, have no official representative to present and defend their official position.
The good news is that something is being done to have a smoother transition from the current practice to the new RESA law. DTI and PRC are already close to finalizing a MOA to achieve this objective. We have submitted additional recommendations which we can just hope will be considered. Concerned readers of this column may also send their comments or suggestions through e-mail so we can forward them to the agencies involved. You may also send an e-mail expressing your interest to support the move to form an association of registered (once available) in-house sales persons to act as the voice of the agents.
Unless DTI and PRC finally sign the MOA for a smoother transition to the RA 9646, people will remain restless about RESA. I promise to keep you updated on this issue here in my column next month.

(Editor’s note: the author is currently the National President of the National Real Estate Association. For comments and inquiries, you can send your e-mail to andymanalac85@yahoo.com)

It was in late October that Ayala Land disclosed to the local stock exchange that it signed a 50-year lease agreement with the government-led Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), the agency that manages the Subic Bay Freeport and Economic Zone in Zambales. To a large extent, it is a feather in the cap of SBMA boss Armand Arreza that Ayala Land opted to venture with Subic during his administration.
As part of the lease agreement, Ayala Land was reported interested in developing a 7.5- hectare “master planned community” within Subic’s central building district. This is the area near the Magsaysay Gate that goes out to Olongapo City. The proposed development will reportedly include a new shopping mall, new business-process outsourcing buildings, and a new hotel.
If memory serves me, this is Ayala Land’s first major foray into mixed-used commercial development in Central Luzon. Its Avaya Cove project in Bataan is a residential project that is more recreational and leisurely in nature. For Subic, what is reportedly planned is shopping mall and office space development, including a new hotel.
About a decade ago Ayala Land started a similar development effort in Southern Luzon, particularly the Laguna area. But with the Northern Luzon Expressway as well as the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway now providing easy access to the Subic-Clark economic corridor, the country’s newest boomtown region, Ayala Land’s timing to move into Central Luzon couldn’t have been better.
The Tarlac-La Union Expressway will soon be underway, along with the rehabilitation of MacArthur Highway as well as the old railway line from Manila to Clark in Pampanga. In addition, the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport at Clark is up for redevelopment as well, while the Subic International Port has just gone through a facelift. Indeed, Ayala Land’s timing is impeccable.
“This development is part of the company’s strategy to establish mixed-use master planned growth centers in various parts of the country,” said Ayala Land in a statement. It said the development would cater to nearby areas of Subic and Olongapo, and may also serve as a draw for local and international tourists.
Ayala Land can’t go wrong with the latest move. The SM group of the Sy family has long shown the way with regard to mall development in urban areas outside Metro Manila. To some extent, it may be seen that Ayala Land had chosen niche markets, rather than the very broad expansion strategy of SM. And perhaps rightly so, given that both companies don’t necessarily cater to the same markets.
“The company’s development will be a catalyst for growth in the Subic-Olongapo corridor,” Ayala Land said in a statement. This, it added, will spur growth particularly from retail, office and hotel locators and create an estimated 10,000 new jobs in the area. This will truly augur well for Subic, and is a much-needed private sector effort to add to the development of the Freeport.
Not to take away anything from Ayala Land, but the real catalyst for growth in the Subic-Clark corridor, in my humble opinion, is the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway, which was initiated with much thanks to the foresight of former BCDA chief Rufo Colayco. He pushed the project during the Estrada and Arroyo administrations, and its completion saw the emergence of Boomtown.
For sure, with Ayala Land now coming in, SBMA boss Armand Arreza is bound to come out with new projects that will benefit the Freeport, its locators, the neighboring communities, and most important, the people of the Subic-Clark-Tarlac corridor. Ayala Land’s big project, for sure, is just the beginning.

Marvin A. Tort is a veteran business journalist. He is a former Managing Editor of BusinessWorld and also a former chairman of the Philippine Press Council. He is presently into various businesses including gaming and IT, and business and communication consulting. He also writes a twice-weekly column for the BusinessMirror, and is the Philippine Marketing Representative of Institutional Investor Magazine.

The supposed “rationalization” currently being proposed by the Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA) on the rules that would govern the placement, installation and location of outdoor advertising, more popularly known as billboards, along the 92-kilometer stretch of the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx) is a fitting prelude to the greatest crime against nature that could ever happen on this side of the earth.

The BCDA and the Department of Public Works and Highways have started to draft said rules and presented the idea during a “consultative” meeting held recently in Clark.

In the surface, the move appears to be laudable, as there seemed to be some semblance of foresight on the part of agencies in charge of this world-class superhighway.

But in real terms, these agencies have actually started to position into the minds of the general public, particularly the stakeholders of the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Corridor, the idea that erection of billboards and other commercial signage will definitely be allowed very soon.

In this country, once government and local leaders start to verbalize such highly abused words like “rationalizing,” synchronizing, safeguarding, etc., we the citizenry should better brace ourselves for the worst to come.

More often than not, a deal has already been struck and the next thing you know, it is already being implemented, and the people involved will just parry whatever public outcry it may result into, and the rest is history….

They will just let their highly paid lawyers to take charge, as they laugh their way to the bank, so to speak.

During that “consultative meeting,” on SCTEx signs and signboard structures, BCDA officials, led by a certain Engr. Tiotuyco, tagged along DPWH Director Emmanuel Cuntapay of the National Building Code. Cuntapay proved to be inefficient in eradicating those humongous billboards in the streets of Metro Manila despite direct orders from no less than President Arroyo.

The public-works official simply reasoned out that the existing National Building Code could not allow them (DPWH) to do just that, unless and until the code is amended. Ergo, he can also cite that reasoning once giant billboards begin to mushroom along the SCTEx.

Going back to the issue at hand, during that meeting in Clark on August 12, the issue of allowing these “monsters,” called outdoor advertising structures, has become obvious, if not devious.

Both officials declared that locations will be identified where service providers can put up signs and structures according to specifications detailed in the supposed rules for billboards and signages along the expressway.

Tiotuyco even expressed his observation that, in certain places, billboards “may even help add to landscape aesthetics, and provide illumination as well for night drivers.”

There you go…. Right after professing “environmental concerns and care, the BCDA messenger clearly sent the message across that locations of billboards and other related signs and structures “will be identified, prior to allowing such structures.”

Outdoor advertising is a multibillion-peso industry. And these vultures in the advertising sector, including the advertisers themselves, are now hovering around the scenic SCTEx.

Like hungry eagles, they are now preying on the otherwise serene and quiet nature of the superhighway.

The people of Central Luzon should unite against this evil plot.

At the same time, local government leaders should never allow themselves to be a part of this crime against nature and should even take the lead in curbing the plot of imperial Manila to duplicate the rotten streets and avenues that they now have.

Our paper will continue to advocate for a total ban of billboards along the SCTEx. We will continue to drumbeat and herald every step of the way in whatever way we can to deflect any moves concerning this evil plot that would definitely lead to the rape of the superhighway.

Recently, on June 29 to be exact, a new level of protection for our beloved real- estate investors has been signed into law by President Arroyo, which took effect on July 31. This law intends to protect the buyers, even before they get involved in a real-estate transaction, by assuring them that they are only dealing with competent, professional, duly licensed and registered practitioners whose standards of practice and service shall be globally competitive and who are subject to stiff penalties for certain violations and malpractice. This is Republic Act 9646, or now more commonly referred to as the Real Estate Service Act (RESA).

This new ruling basically requires all real-estate service practitioners to be licensed and registered with the Professional Regulatory Board of Real Estate Service ,which is under the supervision and administrative control of the Professional Regulatory Commission. Prior to the effectivity of this law, these licenses were secured only from the office of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). Except for the real-estate salesperson, all levels, meaning the broker, appraiser, consultant and assessor are required to undergo examinations to be given by the board as a prerequisite to licensure and registration. However, a real-estate salesperson is still required to secure a license and can only work under a licensed broker who will have to be a signatory in all the transactions of the salesperson.

Another objective is also to elevate the standards for the practitioners by setting higher requirements for the applicants, especially for the level of the real-estate brokers and salespersons. Until the availability of a Bachelor’s Course on real estate, which will be a prerequisite to get a brokers license, applicants should have completed a four-year college degree. In the case of the salesperson, they should have taken at least two years in college. In this broker-salesperson arrangement, a broker can only accredit a maximum of 20 salespersons. In divisions or departments in partnerships and corporations engaged in marketing or selling any real-estate projects, the heads must be full-time registered and licensed real-estate brokers.

While these sounds all too good for the buyers, it will actually benefit the real -estate brokers who have existing licenses the most. Moreover, if we take a closer look at the implications it will have on the existing structures of real-estate sales and marketing organizations, this law might require major movements which will definitely adversely affect their current operations. This is especially true for companies involved in marketing low-cost and socialized-housing projects, but it does not mean that corporations selling high-end projects are exempted from it. At present, maybe more than 95 percent of the in-house agents of real-estate companies are not licensed salespeople. The same percentage for the department or division heads who are not licensed brokers although most of these people have worked for their respective companies as productive sellers for 5, 10, 15 or more years. In the existing structures of these sales organizations, there can be one head for a division with more than a hundred sales agents with middle managers in the layers. Will all managerial levels be required to be headed by licensed brokers when the law only requires the one directly supervising the salesperson to be a licensed broker? That is just the tip of the iceberg. Many of the sales heads, especially in low-cost housing sales organizations who have worked productively for years in their respective companies, may not even qualify to apply for their broker’s licenses since most of them do not have a four-year college degree although they know the industry extremely well. Will they have to be demoted to mere “coordinators” or “referrers” as some advocates of this law suggest?

It really seems that the in-house sales organizations were not considered in the deliberation of this law, when we should actually give credit to these agents who were responsible for bringing the Philippine real estate to where it is right now and also for bringing in the very useful dollars from abroad through their efforts to sell to the international market.

More of its impact willbe discussed on the second part of this article. Incidentally, this topic will be discussed more lengthily by no less than the chairman of the PRC, Nicolas Lapeña, in the 14th NREA-DCC National Convention on September 24 and 25 at the Makati Sports Club. You may contact the NREA office at 913-4463 to reserve seats.

Both bills intend to lower power costs by reducing government taxes and royalties on power distribution utilities and power generation companies, respectively. The Enrile initiative is both timely and necessary, for industries and residences alike, especially with the state-owned National Power Corporation (Napocor) again petitioning for a power rate increase.

Rightly or otherwise, the Enrile bills hold that the country’s high electricity rates, to a large part, is traceable to excessive taxes being charged to both power generation and distribution utilities firms, which are mostly passed on to electricity consumers. And by cutting these taxes, rates can be reduced significantly, to benefit residences, businesses, and industries.

His SB 3147 proposes that government goes back to a franchise tax regime where electric utilities are levied only a three percent tax on their gross distribution income, in lieu of all national and local taxes, including the 12% value added tax. Currently, distribution utilities pay VAT, local franchise tax imposed by local government units, and corporate income tax. And this all are passed on to consumers.

But Enrile insists that public services such as transmission and distribution of power should not be a major source of tax revenue for the government since it is actually the function of government to provide for these services.

Meantime, his SB 3148 proposes that government share or royalties in exploration, development, and production of indigenous energy sources like natural gas, coal, and crude oil be reduced to three percent of net proceeds. In turn, additional proceeds can be used for initiatives to lower electricity prices.

Among others, the bill seeks to remove the disparities in the treatment of royalties of indigenous energy sources not covered by the Renewable Energy Act of 2008, particularly natural gas, oil, and coal. Moreover, by paying less royalties and taxes to the government, exploration companies can reduce the commodity price of natural gas and other indigenous energy resource, and this will benefit consumers through lower electricity rates.

Perhaps by lowering electricity prices, as Enrile intends through his two bills, savings to be generated by consumers and businesses may yet be channelled to more productive use, and thus help boost economic activity. At the very least, lower electricity costs can help keep more businesses alive during the downturn, while also provide economic relief to consumers.

In a statement, Ernie Santiago, president of the Semiconductors and Electronics Industry of the Philippines Inc. or Seipi, urged Malacañang to certify the power-reform bills of Enrile as priority bills to ensure their immediate passage.

Citing the Philippines to have one of the most expensive power rates, Santiago added that Seipi has long been asking the government to reduce the royalties in indigenous-energy sources—such as natural gas. This will encourage foreign investors to stay and not transfer their operations to other ASEAN countries that have more competitive power rates, he said.

In a statement, Enrile noted that “a frail and volatile economy, coupled with the high prices of goods and services, remains as a major threat to economic recovery, with exorbitant electricity prices in the country—one of the highest in Asia, being cited as one of the major roadblocks.”

He also said that with his bills, the power costs of businesses and industries could be reduced by P1.34 to P2 per kilowatt-hour, while electric bills of residential consumers will go down by at least P1 per kilowatt-hour.

Enrile said both power-reform bills would serve as an economic stimulus that would not only make industries more competitive, but would also contribute to the purchasing power of the consuming public.

Comments to matort@yahoo.com

Marvin A. Tort is a veteran business journalist. He is a former Managing Editor of BusinessWorld and also a former chairman of the Philippine Press Council. He is presently into various businesses including gaming and IT, and business and communication consulting. He also writes a twice-weekly column for the BusinessMirror.

There are rumors of Mariano’s alleged embezzlement of company funds for personal profit, which is somewhat difficult to believe considering what the brothers had gone through in business together all these years, and of significant business losses from trading in metals and speculative hedging on jet fuel prices.

Obviously, with Mariano handling treasury for the group, he cannot expect to be blameless for financial troubles, if any. But he has been doing finance for Lucio’s businesses in the last 50 years. And for sure, in all those years, his financial management was not always perfect. But why the relationship blow out now?

There is also talk of the 69-yeard-old Mariano going into business for himself, investing in a real estate venture without the permission of his older brother, the 74-year-old Lucio. Some people claim Lucio is particular about loyalty to the family business, and has ordered that all family members working for the group cannot work nor do business externally.

That Lucio and Mariano are not blood brothers, as some pundits point out, does not seem to be an issue. But it remains uncertain whether Lucio is also about to question the loyalty of their brothers Harry and Frank or Chang Wing Kit, and brothers-in-law of Domingo Chua Cheung Chi Ming. The worse that can happen is for the ongoing feud to divide the family further.

Not at a time when business is not doing too well. The cigarette and liquor business are now under threat both from smugglers as well as new taxes; their airline business is adversely affected by rising fuel prices; the merger of their banks is also held back by regulatory issues. There is also the issue of their profitability, with one stockholder reportedly complaining that bank stocks she had bought at P100 apiece were now worth just a little over P23 per share.

It is always sad to read about family, or brothers, fighting over business. And Philippine industry has seen enough of such fights over the years. To the credit of the Gokongwei brothers, for instance, despite the passing of Henry and Johnson Robert, eldest brother John and youngest brother James continue to work well with Henry’s and Johnson’s children.

In the case of the Lucio Tan Group, what started out as a small trading firm in the late 1950s diversified into chemicals, cigarettes and liquor, a piggery, several banks, hotels, airlines, and real estate development. And today, the group has business interests in the Philippines, China and Hong Kong, Papua New Guinea, Guam, Canada, and the United States.

Also, it is easy enough to mistakenly think that the group was founded solely by Lucio Tan. People in the know are quick to point out that the group’s business success can also be credited to three other people. Aside from Lucio, there were Benito Tan and Florencio Santos, now both deceased, and of course, Mariano.

Being a commerce graduate, as opposed to Lucio’s degree in chemical engineering and Florencio Santos’s law degree, it was only fitting that Mariano handled treasury for the group. And this was for almost 50 years, for nearly all the companies in the group, until the publicized falling out between brothers that reportedly started in February.

With only Lucio and Mariano still alive, and with no clear succession rules, perhaps the 74-year-old family patriarch is beginning to feel insecure with his younger brother’s influence in the company. Also, one can speculate the possibility of infighting among Lucio’s aides, especially after their boss’ recent surgery. What happens to them when he goes is anybody’s guess.

Also raised by speculators is Mariano’s supposed loyalty to Lucio Tan’s first family. Coffee shop wags claim that because of their late Tan mother’s insistence on faithfulness, Mariano acknowledges the legitimacy of Lucio’s first wife, Carmen, and thus reportedly recognizes Lucio Tan, Jr. as his father’s rightful heir.

But unfortunately for Lucio Khao Tan, Jr. or Bong, despite his bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering and his Executive Masters in Business and Administration from Northwestern University and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and the supposed support of his Uncle Mariano, he does not seem to be in his father’s favour.

As for Mariano’s fate, the word is, he has been told to move overseas with the rest of his immediate family. In February, he was already barred from entering the premises of the Allied Bank Building on Ayala Avenue, where he holds office. This prompted him to sue the bank’s security chief, which reportedly even earned him the irritation of his brother.

Talk about 50 years of contribution and dedication to the family businesses suddenly being rendered worthless. Since then, Mariano’s nominations to the various Tan company boards have been withdrawn, including that for Allied Bank and Philippine National Bank, Tanduay Distillers, Philippine Airlines, Eton Properties, and MacroAsia.

History is replete with stories of kings, emperors, or even wealthy and powerful businessmen whose empires were eventually brought to ruins by mismanagement or even family squabbles, or worse, by wedges driven between family members by ambitious and scheming but undeserving underlings. One can only wish Lucio Tan the best of luck in keeping his family and his businesses from falling apart.

Comments to matort@yahoo.com

Moreover, providing for better infrastructure to and from Central Luzon and onward to Northern Luzon can actually help broaden San Miguel’s market and improve access to it. In terms of logistics and transportation, having better roads will make it easier for goods and people to go around.

At the rate San Miguel is investing in business other than its core of food and beverage, it is quite likely the Cojuangco-chaired company will soon be truly diversified as a global business conglomerate.

Locally, San Miguel is also into power through distributor Manila Electric Co.; telecommunications via Liberty Telecoms; oil refining and retailing through Petron Corp. It has also reportedly expressed interest in the potable water source development project in Laiban Dam in Tanay, Rizal.

Abroad, San Miguel has been reportedly offered by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. a stake in PT Adaro Energy, an Indonesia-based integrated coal mining and trading company.

Why toll roads? In San Miguel’s case, to sell its consumer goods, it doesn’t necessarily have to own the roads going to its market particularly in North Luzon. But in terms of additional revenue source, a toll road is a massive cash generator daily. And this makes the possible investment in the Tarlac-La Union highway very interesting. If San Miguel is just sitting on cash anyway, then it might as well invest in a toll road.

The Tarlac-La Union Expressway involves the construction of an 88.5-km, four-lane expressway from La Paz, Tarlac, to Rosario, La Union. Construction reportedly started in September and is targeted for completion in 2012. Of the total project cost, 57 percent or P8.59 billion will be financed through loans, and 24 percent or P3.68 billion from equity. The remaining 19 percent, about P2.91 billion, will be provided by the government in the form of a subsidy.

One news report quoted Isidro Consunji, president of DMCI Holdings, as saying that San Miguel was already doing a due diligence on the road project. “I think SMC is interested in getting 49 percent, with an option to go up to 51 percent,” he said. Consunji’s company leads the consortium of local private contractors offering to build the expressway.

An interesting twist in this tale is a possible competition to San Miguel, courtesy of Metro Pacific Investments Corp., which recently completed its purchase of a controlling stake in Manila North Tollways Corp. (MNTC) from the Lopez group for P12.2 billion. Through an older firm, Metro Pacific’s Manny Pangilinan is already associated with the Metro Manila Skyway project. But the latest acquisition from the Lopez group invariably makes his group the undisputed biggest toll roads operator in the country.

MNTC was a gem of a purchase. It was previously granted the contract to build, operate and maintain the 83.7-km North Luzon Expressway (Nlex) and the 8.5-km Subic-Tipo Expressway; and to build and operate the proposed link of C-5 to the Manila Port Area that will cross the Nlex near the Valenzuela interchange.

Also, with the purchase, Metro Pacific gained the right to participate in the operation of the SCTEx segment that directly links Subic Bay Freeport and the Clark Economic Zone; as well as participate in the concession to build the Tarlac-La Union Expressway.

Just recently, San Miguel already won over Pangilinan’s group in bidding for a substantial stake in the Lopezes’ Manila Electric Co. And this might just prompt San Miguel’s way to leave the toll roads business to new toll road king Manny Pangilinan.

The Tarlac-La Union Expressway project may yet be a strategic piece of the Pangilinan initiative. For sure, it will complement Metro Pacific’s control of toll roads in Central and Northern Luzon. Moreover, it will also complement Pangilinan’s reported interest in bidding for the planned $3-billion high-speed rail project that will connect the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport in Clark to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) in Parañaque City.

As noted by Victor Jose Luciano, Clark International Airport Corp. president and CEO, Pangilinan’s advantage is his ability to provide the right of way for the proposed high-speed rail from Caloocan City to Magallanes in Makati City. And with this right of way, he says, Naia can finally be connected to Clark. As for the right of way from Caloocan City to Clark, the matter is nearly settled, he adds.

One can only hope that Pangilinan seriously considers building the proposed railway. But in case he changes his mind, maybe San Miguel can consider the same. After all, its benefits to the economy can be tremendous. And a new public-private partnership on a major infrastructure project such as this is also a good way to pump-prime a struggling economy.

Marvin A. Tort is a veteran business journalist. He is a former Managing Editor of BusinessWorld and also a former chairman of the Philippine Press Council. He is presently into various businesses including gaming and IT, as well as advertising, and business and communication consulting. He also writes a twice-weekly column for the BusinessMirror.