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By Darwin G. Amojelar Reporter
STATE-RUN Philippine Ports
Authority (PPA) on Friday suspended the auction of the second phase
of the Batangas seaport because of a Supreme Court decision ordering
the agency to pay the affected land owners a higher price for the
expropriation of the property six years ago.
In an interview, Benjamin Cecilio,
PPA Special Bids and Awards Committee chairperson, said the agency
suspended the bidding of the Batangas port because of the High
Tribunal’s decision ordering the payment of P11 billion to
compensate the 231 residents affected by the Batangas Port
development project.
The Supreme Court ordered PPA to
pay the residents the amount of P5,500 per square meter with
12-percent annual interest from P300 it paid on September 2001 when
the port agency expropriated the land.
The bidding committee on Friday
scheduled the submission and the opening of the respective bids of
International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) and Asian
Terminal Inc. (ATI).
“Its unfair on the part of the
bidders to let them guess on their bid price when the cost of the
property will probably be affected greatly [because of the SC
decision] and unfair if I cannot give them the exact evaluation of
the impact,” Cecilio told reporters.
He noted that whoever wins the
bid will have to pay the taxes. “Kung mag iba ang value nyan
syempre iba na ang taxes, mahihirapan silang magforecast [If the
valuation changes, then the tax due would likewise change, making it
difficult for bidders to forecast]. So we have to suspend that until
such time that I get a clear picture of what is really happening,”
Cecilio said.
“The problem is if the cost
becomes very high the bidders [ICTSI, ATI] might back out. That’s
the problem,” he added.
The second phase costing about
P5.5 billion was funded by the Japan Bank for International
Cooperation. The contract would last for 25 years. The port occupies
a 128-hectare area, bigger than the 20-hectare first phase operated
by ATI for domestic traffic.
The second phase would be a mix
operation of bulk, break bulk and international containerized cargo.
The facility could accommodate 7,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent
units).
At present, the port serves as
the transport hub of goods in the Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal
and Quezon provinces, or the so-called Calabarzon growth corridor.
It also functions as a terminal for passengers traveling to and from
nearby provinces like Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan.
The Batangas facility is one of
10 ports up for improvement to meet world standards by 2010.
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