November 6, 2013 8:10 pm [
manilatimes.net ]
by RITCHIE A. HORARIO
REPORTER
THE Pasay City government has deferred
the issuance of its decision on the “critical issues” raised by various parties
interested in the reclamation of 300 hectares of land from Manila Bay.
Jonathan Malaya, Pasay City government
spokesman, said the Public-Private Partnership Selection Committee (PPPSC)
decided to defer the issuance of the decisions, because the issues raised have
not been settled yet.
“The issues raised by the bidders are
complex and the committee needs enough time to study and come up with its
decisions,” Malaya told The Manila Times in an interview.
He said that the issues raised by some
bidders were just procedural, which include what applicable laws should govern
the project, the awards process, and the period to submit a counterproposal.
Property developer Ayala Land Inc.
(ALI) earlier refused to submit a counterproposal to the SM Group’s
P54.5-billion reclamation plan, as it urged the local government to resolve
“critical issues” on the matter.
Bernard Vincent Dy, ALI chief
operating officer, asked Mayor Antonino Calixto of Pasay City to address
questions hounding the project to reclaim 300 hectares of land from Manila Bay,
before proceeding with the bid process and awarding the project to any party.
Although he acknowledged the Pasay
City government’s decision to adopt the 2008 National Economic and Development
Authority Joint Venture Guidelines, Dy stressed that the November 4 deadline
for the submission of competing bids does not comply with the newer 2013 NEDA
JV Guidelines which took effect just last May. The new NEDA guidelines give
interested parties 120 calendar days to submit their proposal.
ALI raised these issues after the city
government on October 29 denied its request for a 60-day extension to the
November 4 deadline for the submission of a counterproposal, citing the 2008
NEDA JV Guidelines.
Malaya clarified that ALI did not
totally withdraw from the project, but just wanted to settle first the issues
it raised before submitting its counterproposal.
ALI also cited a paid advertisement of
the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA) published on November 1, “where it
made it clear that no approval has been given for the Pasay reclamation
project.”
But Calixto clarified that the
proposed 300-hectare reclamation project of the city government will be
submitted to the PRA for approval.
In a letter to PRA general manager
Peter Anthony Abaya dated November 4, Calixto informed the government agency
that, “We have initiated a process to select a capable joint venture partner to
undertake the proposed reclamation project subject to your approval.”
Calixto said that after the
competitive challenge, the Pasay City government will formally submit the
project for PRA approval, pursuant to the rules and to ensure consistency with
the terms, location and planned uses of the national government.”
The mayor added that the Pasay City
government shall abide and comply with all the requirements and specifications
that the PRA may impose in the exercise of its regulatory functions.
He also confirmed that the city
government has considered the official pronouncement of the PRA to reclaim 300
hectares of offshore and foreshore land in Pasay City, which will be used as
the site of the proposed national government center which was the subject of
the PRA’s letter dated August 22.
Calixto assured PRA that the city’s
project and that of PRA are compatible.
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