 |
 |
 |
I have survived my first week in the Philippines
I flew out last Sunday evening to arrive in a very bleak Hong Kong (10 degrees and drizzling) early on the Monday morning. Not much open at the airport when at that time so I had to kill the five hour stopover as best I could
The flight down to Manila was relatively short and it make you realise how close the Philippines is to China which might explain the territorial claims the respective countries have over various scattered Islands.
|
|
|
I went straight to my Accommodation at the Discovery Suites which is located
in Pasig City in the south central part of the Manila Urban sprawl. If you want
to find where it is Search Google Earth with the Key words Manila and Discovery
Suites. The apartments are well set up occupying 22 floors in a 41 story
building. I have a separate Lounge, Kitchen, Dining, Bedroom & Bathroom They are
set up for long term stays and you can cater for yourself well if you chose to
do so.
The only issue was that my room had a view of the blank wall of the building
next door. I asked to move to a room with a view and was moved last night to the
16th floor with a view looking out over ADB Avenue and out over the Malls
towards the south east towards Makati City a prominent business centre where the
GHD office is located. How far you see is related to the level of smog. At least
here it is grey rather than brown as it was in Calcutta.
 |
 |
 |
The shopping centres are quite literally across the road with the Podium centre filled with boutique shops then across through St Francis Square which is filled with cheap stalls (including a whole floor selling cell phones and another area selling software - seems you can get any program you want but the covers on the cases seem to be a bit faded). Beyond that the Mega Mall which is a Dubai scale shopping centre (ie enormous).
On the Monday afternoon I attended a security briefing at the project office for the AusAid PEGR project. The actual project I am employed on is a "Strengthening Private Public Partnership Program and Capacity building of the Public Works and Highways department" up here. The specific Panguil Bridge Project I was brought in for was one of the (aborted) projects they tried to get off the ground but failed to do so.
Tuesday morning saw me heading out to the airport for a flight down to Ozamiz on the Island of Mindanao close to where our Panguil Bay Project is located. Internal security is very tight on air travel so they recommend you get to the airport three hours before the flight is due. My driver was late but we made it OK in the event. A bit like India in that you are searched as you go into the airport and again as you go through to the departure lounge My geological hammer caused a bit of consternation so I had to put that through as checked baggage.
The flight south takes about an hour and 20 minutes. I was travelling with a couple of the overall team, a couple of professors from the University who were advising on travel and consultation. We were met at the airport by other members of the team and taken into town for a banquet lunch. Prawns, Crabs, Pork and all kinds of local delicacies. The Panguil Bay project has a very high status at both National (Gloria Arroyo the President giving a personal commitment to it) and locally with the local governments.
 |
 |
 |
I felt a bit naked without an automatic weapon or a hand gun. The place is like an armed camp, Mindanao has an ongoing Islamic rebellion . There are reports virtually every day in the papers of attacks on the army or of bombings in Mindanao. Our site is in the north east of the island away from the main area of disturbance which is further to the south. It did not help to be told by some of my Filipino companions that they target foreigners.
We visited both sides of the bridge site which involved a ferry trip across Panguil bay (which is more like long sound). The countryside is very mountainous rising to 2400 metres (Mt Taranaki height) in Mt Malindang volcano on the north west margin of the bay.
 |
 |
 |
I spent the night with the team in a barracks type accommodation at a "resort" at the Misamus Occidental marine park. The setting was great with our accommodation on stilts out over the coast and our restaurant away out in the bay with access out a couple of 100 metres of a bamboo suspended walkway. I figured staying with the group was a better option than staying back in town on my own in a hotel of doubtful description. I flew back to Manila on the Wednesday after having sat in on the first part of a consultation meeting with the two local governments which was held at the resort.
 |
 |
 |
Thursday and Friday was spent in the GHD office. It takes about 40 minutes to an hour to get there from our accommodation through gridlocked traffic. I would not attempt to drive in Manila. We have an assigned driver. I am not sure what the rules are, but the practice is to just shove your way in. Pedestrian crossings as far as I can determine are target zones. Nobody stops for you and you just have to cross and dodge the traffic. I generally cross with a group of others on the basis that if they are going mow me down they are going to take a number of others with me. (Bruce would understand).
Security is high with heavily armed security guards and searching everybody who enters a building or shop. Vehicles are searched with mirrors underneath and car boots opened before entering car parks.
Last night there was the sound of automatic gunfire not too far from here which went on for an hour, so there was obviously some form of stand-off somewhere. I just kept away from the windows but at 16 floors up it must give some protection
The Panguil Bay Project I am working on has reached an interesting stage
and I have spent the full week in the Manila office and am getting to know a
number of the staff.
In order to properly present the risk associated with the project I put
together a Risk Register which is a concept they have not really seen up here.
I have been asked to carry out some training with the Department of Works and
Highways (DPWH) here before I finish up here.
I have now been asked to scope up and price an appropriate geotechnical
investigation. I have suggested that given that the revised estimate is now
far in excess of available funds (given they are trying to make it stack up to
attract private funding in a PPP arrangement), they need to look seriously at
the form of the bridge. We expect that the project will proceed in some form
given that it is one of Madam Presidents favourite project.
The current big story in the Philippines is the developing scandal of the
National Broadband Deal.
This was a scheme to introduce broadband throughout the Philippines with an
emphasis on getting broadband into schools.
The original Tender was put out and attracted bids of around US$135Million
Then a deal was struck with the Chinese ZTE Corporation in a (government to
government) deal for $265Million. It is widely believed the $130Million
difference represent kickbacks to be paid out to certain high ranking people.
The Presidents Husband (or First Gentleman) is implicated
A Whistle Blower in the form of Rodolfo Lozada (who headed up the Forestry
department) who was involved (as a "consultant") in negotiating the
deal has emerged and was to testify to the Senate.
He then had his life threatened and fled to Hong Kong. In the meantime the
Palace moved to consolidate their control of the Congress and engineered the
removal of the speaker and replace him with somebody more easily manipulated.
The Senate is not controlled by the palace.
Lozada was persuaded to return but on arrival back at the Manila Airport was
intercepted (hijacked) and taken off for a couple of days while they tried to
persuade him to not testify or to change his story (probably luckier than
Ninoy Aquino who was shot when getting off his aircraft at the airport in the Marcos
days - the airport is now named after him)
He surfaced a couple of days longer surrounded by Nuns having sought refuge
with a local Monastery and is now testifying to the Senate. The evidence he is
giving is pretty damning and is implicating the First Gentleman (FG) and the
Palace if not directly the President.
What will happen now is anybody's guess. In the past there have been "people power rebellions" that have overthrown previous corrupt administrations and they have closed off access to the park that was the rallying point for the last rebellion.
One of the commentaries in the local paper has commented that the usual kickback on government contracts is around 20% and the $130 Million this time was a bit over the top.
We are hoping that the present publicity will stop too many sticky fingers
getting involved in our Panguil Bay Project.
Any hint of corruption and AusAid have indicated they will pull the plug on
their involvement.
 |
 |
 |
Apart from all of that life continues as normal here. Manila is an
interesting contrast between modern skyscrapers, gated compound for the rich
and expats and the densely packed areas where most live. On our way home our
driver Jasper will take the back roads to avoid the heavily congested main
roads. The areas we drive through are real eye openers.
Have not got outside of Manila as yet but must do before I go back home. Mt
Pinatubo is north of Manila and Lake Taal to the south. Both are notable
volcanoes and I would like to see them.
Greetings from Manila at the end of week 3.
Work is going well. We are working towards a go/no go decision by the end of the
month. I probably do not need to site. Mind you one of the Nationals here told
me Ozamiz where we were, was for a long time the kidnapping capital of the
Philippines, however the gangs apparently run out of customers so they moved to
Manila where the police have whittled them down in a series of gun battles.
The tense political here continues to bubble away with a Demonstration in
Makati (where the GHD office is located) on Friday that drew about 12,000
people. The scale of this is much smaller than previous "people power"
rebellions in the past. There are a couple of parallel inquiries going on now.
There is a lot coming out on the level of corruption on projects in the
Philippines. It is normal to skim off 20% of the price at the top. At the lower
end they tell me that if you get pulled up by the police on traffic offences, it
is normal practice to slip a bit extra to the cop to make it all go away.
I left the office early on Friday to avoid getting caught up in the gridlock
generated by the demonstration.
 |
 |
 |
Traffic congestion here is just about indescribable. It took me well over an
hour to get back to the hotel on Friday. The previous night it took over an hour
and a half. The distance from the office to the hotel is about 7km along EDSA (Esprano
De Los Santos Avenue).
Last night on our way back from our trip south we came back on the South Super
Highway a toll road and it took about two and half hours to get into Manila in
an absolute gridlock. . Within the town the rule at intersections is to just
shove your way in. The police do their best to direct traffic at the worst
intersections. The police and indeed a lot of the pedestrians wear face masks
wear face masks to try to combat the effects of the air pollution
I would not like to have a medical emergency as the Ambulances do not seem have
much more success than the average car in negotiating the traffic. More success
seems to be lot of notable politicians who have motorcycle escorts clearing a
path accompanied by flashing lights and sirens.
 |
Surprise surprise on Thursday morning the day dawned with little smog and you
could see the mountains surrounding Manila. I grabbed the camera. The traffic
soon put paid to those clear skies
I managed to get away from Manila to the south yesterday. We headed off to
Lake Taal and the Tagaytay Highlands. Lake Taal is one of those place geologists
need to see before they die. The lake is actually located in a large Caldera
that is about 15km to 20km in size, surrounded by high Caldera walls (the
Highlands) . In the middle of the lake on a short squat island is located one of
the worlds most active and dangerous volcanoes that has caused a lot of
fatalities in recent times. The last major eruption was in 1977. It has the bad
habit of sending out really powerful pryroclastic flows. It sits virtually on the
doorstep of Manila. Mind you the Laguna de Bay around which much of Manila is
built is another large caldera ( a fact that a lot of the locals seem to be
blissfully ignorant of). I did not get to go out to the Island and visit the
volcano. They have a well organised boat trip with horses or donkeys used to
ride up to the crater. I will leave that to a future visit.
 |
 |
 |
The Highland are where the rich and famous from Manila go to escape from
Manila. Marcos had a house here on top of a mountain called the Eagles Nest
(what else). This was opened to the public when he was deposed.
We spent most of our time in the Tagaytay Highlands Country club. GHD has some
form of guest pass arrangement to get in. It is a complex of two golf courses,
sports clubs restaurants and has a Gondola and Funicular Railway which gives
access between the two golf courses. Our party consisted of Peter Benson (our
project leader) myself and two staff from the Manila office Grace and Gina who
are part of the IDA group. A couple of other staff who were meant to come bailed
out. We were driven around by our normal driver Jasper. We visited a market on
the way back where Jaspers sister has a jewellery stall.
Another week draws to a close and it is all normal in Manila. There are three
thousand extra troops on the streets,along with tanks and armoured cars (or we
are told so in the paper). This is a long weekend with Monday a public holiday
celebrating the overthrow of Marcos 22 years ago in the EDSA people power
rising. It is not expected that the current government will be overthrown as the
army and the Catholic Church are not behind the movement to do so. But the
precautions are in place all the same.
 |
Our project is heading towards a deadline of next Thursday when we have to
present a go/nogo recommendation. In reality there is a lot of work that needs
to be done before the project can proceed, but politically we expect the project
to be given a go ahead in some form or another even if the economics do not
attract private investment for a PPP contract. The government could elect to
build and transfer to somebody to operate on a concession. We cannot entirely
rule out a deal being cut on the side. We understand at least one Korean company
has met with the President.
 |
 |
 |
 |
I have enjoyed working out of the Manila office. They have 120 staff here now
with a serious amount of work going on for the middle east and are also
providing resources for Australian offices (and New Zealand). I have been
attached to the IDA group who seem to have quite a healthy social life. I have
tried to introduce a B&E breakfast, and we had our inaugural one on Friday.
Might be difficult to get it to stick as they all arrive at 8 (after commuting
in for over an hour in many cases) and are straight into work. Suggestion is for
a regular Friday evening equivalent as many stay on to party in town. I have
included some photos taken of the office.
The Office is located in Makati which is really the commercial heart of
Manila with multistorey office building, shopping mall and hotels. The Greenbelt
shopping complex is across the road from the office. This is an inter-connected
group of 4 buildings surrounding a "greenbelt" gardens. There are any
number of restaurants to chose from and a comprehensive lunch will set you back
less than the equivalent of $10 in most cases. From Greenbelt you walk across to
Glorietta Mall on an overhead walkway. The reason for all the security measures
(having bags searched and being frisked as you go into malls and individual
shops) is highlighted by the blast (bomb) in the Glorietta Mall which killed 11
last October 19th. They have not yet solved that one.
 |
 |
 |
A complete contrast is offered by Old Manila I managed to have a look around parts of this on Saturday. The town is what you would expect with the hustle and bustle of one of the largest cities of the world, narrow streets, ramshackle buildings and every conceivable thing being sold. Forget about used Japanese car imports, they had whole streets selling used Japanese car motors, parts and electric motors.
 |
 |
 |
We visited a couple of the old original Churches. They seem to decidedly
short of divine protection. The following is the history
Quiapo Church. First built in 1586, destroyed by fire 1639, destroyed by
earthquake 1863, destroyed by earthquake 1899, burnt down 1929, Rebuilt 1939
Manila Cathedral; First Built 1581, destroyed by fire 1583, destroyed by
earthquake 1600, destroyed by earthquake 1645, destroyed by earthquake 1863,
destroyed in Battle of Manila 1945 Rebuilt in 50's
Apart from all of that they are pretty original. Both churches are absolutely
magnificent inside
 |
 |
 |
In the centre of Manila where the Pasig River enters Manila may is Intramurus
(literally within the walls) the old walled city. Fort Santiago occupies the
point
Those who are students of History may know that Magellan "discovered"
the Philippines in 1521 and was killed on Cebu Island.
At the time there was a fort ruled by Rajah Soliman on the site of Intramurus.
Conquistador Miguel Lopez de Legazpi arrived on the scene in 1571 and set up the
first Spanish citadel on the site to protect against the periodic invasions (or
threats of them) by Chinese, Japanese, Dutch and Portuguese.
About the only successful take over was the British from 1762-1764 until the
Americans arrived in 1898 after the Spanish American war. (the Philippines had
fought for independence from Spain in 1896).
More recent sombre history was the Invasion by the Japanese in WW2 and the
retaking of Manila from the Japanese in 1945. The fort was the site of a major
atrocity when 600 Philippine and American prisoners were put in the dungeons to
starve or suffocate to death.
The site is very important for the Filipinos as a shrine for Dr Jose Rizal a
hero of the war of independence in 1896. He was held here before being executed.
Brass foot steps mark his last walk to his execution.
I could have spent a lot more time there. The sense of history is really
palpable
 |
 |
 |
