Road to Perdition II
(Updated)
- What they say at the PPA. Concerned employees write a letter to a PPA Contractor.
 - How the road looks like today. (June 2003)
    - Letter-complaint filed with the Ombudsman requesting for an urgent investigation before the 3-km. expensive avenue will be obliterated when FF Cruz will begin their reclamation contract this coming September.
 What has been written about it.
Â- And another one from Dick Pascual, Jr.
 - How true is the rumor that PPA officials have made representations with FF Cruz to advance the date of their project on Phase II? The better to erase the evidence, my friend?
 - Robert Uy answers for Al Cusi. He relies on the statements of Engineer Melicor, AGM for Engineering that the said road shall not be demolished. Al Cusi could always deny any statement coming from his mouthpiece, that’s the way this guy operates.
 - From FF Cruz, Dick Pascual, Jr. was able to uncover a lie and found it amusing that PPA personnel could lie through their teeth so easily.
 - With his apologia on the Star Columnist’s article on the Batangas Road to Perdition, Robert Uy has shown his contempt for all intelligent people by telling them that based on the pronouncements
of Engineer M. Melicor, AGME, the said road shall not be demolished. Maybe, the road referred to by Eng’r Melicor and Robert Uy is not the same one in the sketch and photos shown on this web site. There must be another explanation than just simply calling these responsible officials “natural liars”. They could always claim “partial amnesia”.
 - Engineer Melicor (malaya.com.ph/aug29/ship0.htm no longer available) confirms that the road will not be demolished, but fails to elaborate that the controversial road shall be under a layer of dredged material after the Phase II project is completed by FF Cruz. Is it possible that a Change Order for the Shimizu-FF Cruz Contract is in the making? I really doubt it, after a protracted controversy, the Project has been given the go-signal by its funders and a major change in plans such as modifiying the project to accommodate the access road may be very difficult to justify. So, why is Engineer Melicor so adamant that the road will stay?
 - August 24, 2003
Star Columnist becomes “fixated with Road to Perdition” issue in attempt to learn whether there exists any relationship between the sudden deluge of virus-laced mail he is receiving and the PPA attempt to downplay the alleged demolition of the P66-million 1-year old concrete road.
 - September 22, 2003
Eight days more and September will be gone, still the “Batangas Road to Perdition” has not been demolished, as reported. There might be some apologies forthcoming to Messrs. Robert Uy and Engineer Medardo Melicor come October if the road still remains intact.                       ÂMaybe, JBIC, the funder of Phase II of the Batangas Port Project was convinced to modify the approved plans, thus saving the P66 million “temporary” road. Still, for whatever reasons there might be, we are prepared to accept responsibility for our misperceptions of information relayed to us.
 - November 26, 2003
Yesterday, I had some frantic calls from friends and relatives regarding a paid ad in the Malaya announcing the existence of a warrant for my arrest in connection with a libel case filed in Ozamis City. (For details, click here.)
 - December 12, 2003
A friendly notice to Mr. Robert Uy, Executive Assistant to the PPA GM and Engineer (kono) Medardo M. Melicor, AGM for Engineering: Please correct the statements you have so far issued regarding the 1.9-km temporary road at the Batangas Port regarding its permanency and status relative to the FFCruz-Shimitzu Project. Failing to do so within a reasonable period of time might constrain me to charge you for willfully misinforming the public regarding a government project and a deliberate and malicious attempt to tarnish my reputation at a proper forum.
 - December 26, 2003
Pictures taken of the “road that refuses to go away as scheduled” show that soil excavated from the proposed project will eventually cover the road, making it unusable. PPA continues to refrain from issuing a clarification on the true nature of the road. (How the road looks like today).              ÂWhat is evident is that extending the life of the road is bound to hamper the construction work on the project and could result on additional costs to the contractor. With PPA’s refusal to acknowledge the short life of this expensive road, more traffic problems are expected in the area.
It is not clear whether work on the permanent road passing along the perimeter of the container yard is being prepared. What we hear is that negotiations for road right of way is still going on. Is this project finally becoming one where the cost of the land is more expensive than the cost of the total project? Notice how the land bought at great expense is being converted into water!
Not being an engineer, we do not expect any explanations from the PPA GM on this side issue.
  - October 18, 2004
The libel case filed at Ozamis City against the Maritime Watchkeeper webmaster has been dismissed. As a result of such dismissal, it is about time for some PPA officials to explain why they have not been telling the truth about the Batangas “Road to Perdition”.
 - October 31, 2004
More pictures taken of the vanishing “Road to Perdition”.
 - November 4, 2004
In the event that the Ombudsman should decide to look into this matter, we have a letter from another PPA GM saying that the demolished road was constructed with all the necessary approvals from the PPA Board and with all the attendant processes such as public bidding.               ÂHowever, the reply does not really address the blatant lies offered by top PPA officials in the past who adamantly insisted that the road was not to be affected or demolished as a result of the portworks. Lying has definitely become a trademark of everyone in government, it seems.
 - March 2005
Some views of the Port and the road from the air.
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 - July 18, 2005
The Port of Batangas, Phase II Project is inaugurated and the pictures show just how the “Road to Perdition” will be finally obliterated.               ÂI can remember that I was with a PPA official the day after the temporary road was approved for construction. So, PPA GM Cusi new at that time that the road would be affected by Phase II and the lame excuse that a road was needed and the Project was still uncertain is merely a ploy. The PPA drawings of the road project already shows just where the Phase II components would be constructed.
Meanwhile, the plunder case filed by Ariel Lim sleeps at the Ombudsman’s office and the body of evidence is certainly buried underneath tons of dredged material. Mr. Melicor can smile perhaps and say, “See, the road was not destroyed, we merely buried it.”