PCCI and PPA combine to resurrect EO59
Monday, April 17th, 2006“Back to single operator for N. Harbor privatization†declares the Malaya shipping news item dated April 17, 2006. The story details indicate how the PCCI and the PPA have connived to resurrect an issue which was even included in the original charges on the impeachment of President Estrada when he ordered the PPA to implement the privatization of the entire Philippine port system to be managed by a single operator made up of a consortium of industry biggies who paraded as presidential cronies.
The mother of Ricardo Saludo, the Deputy Presidential Spokesperson at the Office of the President captured the PCCI presidency that has been some kind of a musical chair game between Donald Dee, Sergio Ortiz-Luis and Miguel Varela in 2004. Noemi Saludo also became the PPA private sector representative upon the demise of her husband whom she succeeded at the PPA Board and that is how PCCI can claim to be properly represented at the PPA Board. When Donald Dee regained his seat as PCCI President in 2005, he promised the incoming officers of the Distribution Management of the Philippines (DMAP) more action at PCCI’s Transport Committee (Transcom). This promise was made during his speech as DMAP’s inducting officer and after DMAP complained about not being a part of the Transcom deliberations during the incumbency of Ms. Saludo.
A year passed after Dee’s promise and DMAP was not been invited back into the Transcom, which is populated mostly by service providers. Then suddenly, the PCCI announces that it has reversed its stand against monopoly at the North Harbor and convinced the PPA to bid out the operations of the North Harbor to a single operator.
During this entire period, Donald Dee became an Ambassador and Special Envoy for International Trade Negotiations, and a member to the 55-member Consultative Commission (Con-Com) on charter change. This of course is on top of his being a Commissioner of the Social Security System (SSS).
The concurrence between PPA and the PCCI was made more compatible when PPA withdrew the Terms of Reference for the Privatization of the North Harbor (TOR) that was submitted to the NEDA for approval. This TOR was developed using USAID assistance provided to PPA and the Coordinating Council for Private Sector Participation (CCPSP) as far back as 2002.
(To be continued)
