Transport and digital infrastructure success has not spread development

ONE of the accomplishments of the Arroyo administration is the creation of the Nautical Highway System using roll-on, roll-off (roro) vessels. It has reduced passenger and cargo transport costs as well as travel time within the Philippines. This is only part of the administration’s great accomplishments in infrastructure building in terms of roads, bridges and other physical facilities.

The Arroyo administration’s roro program was cited by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) as regional model of development beneficial to the poor of Southeast Asia region.

In January 2003, President Gloria Arroyo signed Executive Order 170 outlining the backbone of the Strong Republic Nautical Highway (SRNH).

The SRNH is one of President Arroyo’s priority programs to ensure fast and economical movement of goods and people, and to boost domestic tourism and trade. It covers all routes from Mindanao to Luzon, and the Bicol region and intra Southern Luzon.

The governments roro port system will eventually link all the country’s islands with each other.

Roro is a system designed to carry rolling stock cargo that does not require cranes for loading or unloading.
SNRH includes the three major highways—the Western Nautical Highway, Central Nautical Highway and Eastern Nautical Highway.

Since the roro system was implemented transport costs have been cut significantly and while frequency of goods delivery has increased.

In a study titled, “Initial Impact Assessment of the Philippines’ Nautical Highway System and Lessons for Southeast Asia,” ADB said the transport costs were reduced by from 10 percent to 60 percent mainly because the cargo handling charges and wharfage fees were eliminated.

ADB said more tourists are using roro because of its affordability.

Compared with other modes of transport such as air and traditional shipping, roro is a competitive means of transporting passengers, the ADB said.

For example, tourism receipts in Boracay from 2003 to 2006 rose by more than 50 percent. In Iloilo and in Dapitan, receipts rose 30 percent and 200 percent, respectively.

“It should be noted that this rise in tourist arrivals can be attributed to the availability of both roro and air transport services,” the ADB said.

Data from the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) showed that the government has invested about P9 billion in roro facilities.

Also, the Arroyo administration had spent P10.3 billion in other ports facilities and infrastructure nationwide to achieve the government’s agenda of hastening the country’s interconnectivity, reduction of transport and logistics cost and accelerated development of the regions.

Oscar Sevilla, PPA general manager said the government will continue to expand its roro ports system by installing 74 modular ports nationwide to link provinces and reduce the cost of inter-island transport of goods.

Called Maritime Access (GMA) Ports Project, Sevilla said it will be funded by an P11-billion loan from BNP Paribas.

The project involves the nationwide installation, establishment and development of 74 roro ports for mobility enhancement, remote island development and social reform support.

The project would use prefabricated steel ports composed of five interdependent modular parts such as pier or causeway connecting to shore, mooring platform, manual ramp dolphin and passenger terminal with solar power utilities.

Sevilla said the modular roro terminal would cost between P40 million and P50 million a port. “The installation will be deployed nationwide, depending on the need of the provinces,” he said.

While the Arroyo Administration has been successful in reducing transport costs, the government failed to provide Internet access to rural areas particularly to the barangay and public schools.

One of the 10 points in the President’s development agenda is for physical transport infrastructure in which her achievements cannot be disputed and digital infrastructure.

Under the government’s Medium Term Philippine Development Plan for 2004 to 2010, President Arroyo was to develop digital infrastructure to provide cheaper telecom and Internet access in barangay and schools in rural areas.

This failure is partly owed to the termination of the controversial and corruption-allegation-tainted National Broadband Network (NBN) Project worth $329.48 million and the $551 million Cyber Education Project.

The project aims to create seamless connectivity among all national government agencies down to the barangay offices of the local governments to enhance delivery of government services.

It is also expected to link government offices and the local governments with great cost savings.

It will make Voice-over Internet Protocol possible between government offices.

The Cyber Education aims to provide access to quality education to students particularly in the marginalized areas.

The project also aims to address the lack of basic resources in education such as competent teachers, academic classrooms and instructional materials.

A total of 256,618 schools outside the first and second class cities, 11,176 schools under the clustering scheme, 665 Alternative Learning System learning centers (for out-of-school youths and adults) and 4,282 elementary and high schools in first and second class cities would be covered. –DARWIN G. AMOJELAR SENIOR REPORTER, Manila Times