Japanese engineer rejects GMA interchange in Pampanga
By Tonette Orejas - Central Luzon Desk
SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga -- The Japanese resident engineer of the national flagship project Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway disapproved the construction of an interchange at the Porac-Angeles City boundary that the President approved in August, said the chair of the Subic-Clark Alliance for Development Council.
"The [Advocacy for the Development of Central Luzon] area is not suitable for the interchange because the resident engineer, Mr. [Masayoshi] Komagamine, did not approve of the interchange because the distance between the two [Pasig-Potrero and Sapang Bato] bridges where the interchange of ADCL is located, is narrow," SCADC chair, Secretary Edgardo Pamintuan, told the Inquirer on Saturday.
Komagamine's supposed position against the ADCL site in Barangay (village) Manuali in Porac could not be confirmed.
Narciso Abaya, president and chief executive of the Bases Conversion Development Authority, the proponent of the SCTEx, has not replied to a query on Komagamine's stand.
Abaya had told Pampanga Governor Eddie Panlilio, San Fernando Mayor Oscar Rodriguez, ADCL, and Pampanga Chamber of Commerce and Industry leaders in a forum here last Friday that the Manuali site was "probably the best compromise among competing locations."
"My stand is personal. The most compelling reason for me is that this was the directive of the President to me," Abaya had said.
Vice Governor Joseller Guiao, who lobbied together with the ADCL for the Manuali site, doubted if Komagamine actually turned down that location.
"The BCDA will not approve it if the Japanese consultant has not approved it. The BCDA is preparing plans for it. It will be the first to know [if the area is suitable or not]," Guiao said when reached by phone.
Guiao said the Manuali site has been supported by legislative councils in San Fernando and Angeles cities.
"The President herself issued a directive. No other person can reverse the President except herself," Guiao said, referring to the directive publicly announced by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo during the ground-breaking rites of the Texas Instruments in Clark on August 16.
Pamintuan said he, Senator Manuel "Lito" Lapid, and Pampanga Representative Carmelo Lazatin are lobbying for two interchanges. Lapid's proposed site is in Planas in his hometown Porac. Pamintuan and Lazatin want an interchange at Friendship/Margot.
According to Pamintuan, the projects have the support of Public Works Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane Jr., Presidential Management Staff Director General Cerge Remonde, National Economic and Development Authority Director General Tito Santos, and civic organizations in Angeles City and Porac.
Constructing those two interchanges would not require the BCDA and the national government for that matter to shell out public lands to buy right-of-way from private landowners, he said.
According to him, Lapid had convinced the Puyat family to donate some lands at Planas. Pamintuan denied owning a 33-hectare land at Margot.
ADCL chair Rene Romero said many of the landowners from Manuali to Angeles City have "signified their intention to help the government by donating some portions of their lands to spur development in their communities."
Abaya had said that the original proposed interchanges were scrapped on the Pampanga side due to lack of funds and technical considerations for the safety standards of the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) in Clark. He said the BCDA was going to spend P280 to P290 million for the Manuali interchange.
Pamintuan, who claimed he was pushing for a "win-win solution," wanted the locations to be chosen on the basis of a technical assessment. For the two interchanges, he said the BCDA could afford to spend P400 million. The BCDA, however, was seeking another loan for the P27-billion SCTEx.
"Even if the BCDA agrees to the Manuali site, we can present to the President an acceptable project for our people in Pampanga. I don't want to be blamed when the people in Angeles City start protesting," said Pamintuan, a former mayor of the city. Angeles, he said, was more populous and has a bigger business sector.
He said residents in San Fernando, the province's capital city and which is 30 km from Clark, have three routes to the SCTEx. These are the Clark circumferential road, the North Luzon Expressway that heads toward the Mabalacat spur road, and Lapid's proposed interchange in Planas.
Rodriguez and Panlilio want an interchange at Manuali to link San Fernando, eastern and southern Pampanga towns to the SCTEx as access to the Subic and Clark free ports.
SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga -- The Japanese resident engineer of the national flagship project Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway disapproved the construction of an interchange at the Porac-Angeles City boundary that the President approved in August, said the chair of the Subic-Clark Alliance for Development Council.
"The [Advocacy for the Development of Central Luzon] area is not suitable for the interchange because the resident engineer, Mr. [Masayoshi] Komagamine, did not approve of the interchange because the distance between the two [Pasig-Potrero and Sapang Bato] bridges where the interchange of ADCL is located, is narrow," SCADC chair, Secretary Edgardo Pamintuan, told the Inquirer on Saturday.
Komagamine's supposed position against the ADCL site in Barangay (village) Manuali in Porac could not be confirmed.
Narciso Abaya, president and chief executive of the Bases Conversion Development Authority, the proponent of the SCTEx, has not replied to a query on Komagamine's stand.
Abaya had told Pampanga Governor Eddie Panlilio, San Fernando Mayor Oscar Rodriguez, ADCL, and Pampanga Chamber of Commerce and Industry leaders in a forum here last Friday that the Manuali site was "probably the best compromise among competing locations."
"My stand is personal. The most compelling reason for me is that this was the directive of the President to me," Abaya had said.
Vice Governor Joseller Guiao, who lobbied together with the ADCL for the Manuali site, doubted if Komagamine actually turned down that location.
"The BCDA will not approve it if the Japanese consultant has not approved it. The BCDA is preparing plans for it. It will be the first to know [if the area is suitable or not]," Guiao said when reached by phone.
Guiao said the Manuali site has been supported by legislative councils in San Fernando and Angeles cities.
"The President herself issued a directive. No other person can reverse the President except herself," Guiao said, referring to the directive publicly announced by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo during the ground-breaking rites of the Texas Instruments in Clark on August 16.
Pamintuan said he, Senator Manuel "Lito" Lapid, and Pampanga Representative Carmelo Lazatin are lobbying for two interchanges. Lapid's proposed site is in Planas in his hometown Porac. Pamintuan and Lazatin want an interchange at Friendship/Margot.
According to Pamintuan, the projects have the support of Public Works Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane Jr., Presidential Management Staff Director General Cerge Remonde, National Economic and Development Authority Director General Tito Santos, and civic organizations in Angeles City and Porac.
Constructing those two interchanges would not require the BCDA and the national government for that matter to shell out public lands to buy right-of-way from private landowners, he said.
According to him, Lapid had convinced the Puyat family to donate some lands at Planas. Pamintuan denied owning a 33-hectare land at Margot.
ADCL chair Rene Romero said many of the landowners from Manuali to Angeles City have "signified their intention to help the government by donating some portions of their lands to spur development in their communities."
Abaya had said that the original proposed interchanges were scrapped on the Pampanga side due to lack of funds and technical considerations for the safety standards of the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) in Clark. He said the BCDA was going to spend P280 to P290 million for the Manuali interchange.
Pamintuan, who claimed he was pushing for a "win-win solution," wanted the locations to be chosen on the basis of a technical assessment. For the two interchanges, he said the BCDA could afford to spend P400 million. The BCDA, however, was seeking another loan for the P27-billion SCTEx.
"Even if the BCDA agrees to the Manuali site, we can present to the President an acceptable project for our people in Pampanga. I don't want to be blamed when the people in Angeles City start protesting," said Pamintuan, a former mayor of the city. Angeles, he said, was more populous and has a bigger business sector.
He said residents in San Fernando, the province's capital city and which is 30 km from Clark, have three routes to the SCTEx. These are the Clark circumferential road, the North Luzon Expressway that heads toward the Mabalacat spur road, and Lapid's proposed interchange in Planas.
Rodriguez and Panlilio want an interchange at Manuali to link San Fernando, eastern and southern Pampanga towns to the SCTEx as access to the Subic and Clark free ports.
Labels: bcda, clark, expressway, sctex, subic
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