NAIA Rehab Deal Negates PBBM's Clean Government Goal?

President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. is being featured in the news as condemning irregularities, corruption, and inefficiencies in government, and employing presidential actions to address these.

Is the projected "clean" Philippine government, or Marcos administration for that matter, partnering with a "seemingly not so clean" private entity in the very important and strategic NAIA rehab project? I Photo: Rey Baniquet / Alfred Frias, Philippine Information Agency

He has undertaken steps to curb red tape, promote transparency, and simplify and streamline processes in government. PBBM is projecting his administration as one that is working to establish a clean government.

Some sectors thus expressed surprise that one of the largest and most important projects under the Marcos administration – the P170.6-billion Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) rehabilitation, operation, optimization, and maintenance project which is to be implemented by a private entity under a public-private partnership (PPP) scheme – has been described as involving some "not really clean" entities.

One consortium that bid for the project and which is reported to have made an aggressive bid, the SMC-SAP and Company Consortium led by San Miguel Corporation (SMC), is being questioned regarding its composition.

The consortium consists of the following, and their ownership stake based on the documents submitted to the Department of Transportation (DOTr): San Miguel Holdings Corporation of Mr. Ramon S. Ang or RSA – Lead member (33%); RMM Asian Logistics Inc. of Mr. Raymond Miller Moreno – Member (30%); RLW Aviation Development Inc. of Mr. Robert Lee Wong – Member (27%); and Incheon International Airport Corp. or IIAC – Operations and Maintenance Partner (10%).

The DOTr is expected to officially announce the name of the winning bidder on February 14 or 15. As announced, the government will pick the bidder that offers the best or highest revenue share.

San Miguel's consortium offered the biggest at 82.16% of its gross revenue.

SMC's RSA immediately praised the DOTr for "facilitating a transparent and equitable bidding process."

However, some doubts and questions are being hurled at the consortium. For one, it has been alleged that two members of the consortium seem to be "hastily put up" just for the bidding.

Secondly, international news outlets reported in 1985 about one Raymond Moreno being investigated for alleged irregularities concerning a $35 million contract, much of it financed by the Pentagon, to provide military communications equipment to the Philippines.

In December 1987, it was subsequently reported that Raymond Moreno paid $1 million in fines after pleading guilty to conspiracy in federal court in Alexandria for siphoning $3 million in kickbacks from Pentagon-financed contracts with the Philippine armed forces.

Moreno likewise pleaded guilty to filing a false statement and to a tax violation in connection with the elaborate skimming operation that used inflated invoices from six American subcontractors to cover up the illegal payments.

Now the question: Is the subject of the above-mentioned crime and scandal in the US the same man who heads RMM Logistics, Inc.?

Third, in September 2020, major news outlets reported the dismissal by the South Korea Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport of Koo Bon-hwan, the president and CEO of IIAC, for alleged negligence and ethical lapses.

The IIAC top official was accused of alleged wrongdoings in connection with the company's typhoon response and personnel issues.

The Ministry was quoted in the news as saying that Koo left the parliamentary audit session on October 2, 2019, after making an excuse of needing to prepare for a typhoon. But it was later found out that he used a company credit card that night to pay for a private dinner meeting near his home.

The Ministry likewise said that Koo's unfair handling of the affairs of personnel also led to his dismissal from the position.

Now, is the projected "clean" Philippine government, or Marcos administration for that matter, partnering with a "seemingly not so clean" private entity in the very important and strategic NAIA rehab project?

Somehow, this is the question uppermost in the minds of businessmen especially given the antecedents to the bidding that include the relaxation of certain bidding rules.

For a gigantic project such as the NAIA rehab with a huge financial cost, the PBBM admin has to be eagle-eyed so as not to besmirch its thrust to woo investors.

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