Senate panel’s trust seen all for naught
BY SAMMY MARTIN REPORTER
THE Senate Sub-Committee on Finance, apparently trusting the leadership of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) in the same way that Malacanang did, on Tuesday admitted that it touched only appropriations for projects of the department, not the projects themselves.
The admission was made by Sen. Ralph Recto, the chairman of the finance sub-committee, who was responsible for scrutinizing the budget of the Transportation department.
“The (Aquino) administration is too young and we only concentrated on the needs of the agency,” Recto explained during an exclusive interview with The Manila Times.
President Benigno Aquino 3rd began his six-year term on June 30, 2010.
Recto, also the chairman of the Oversight Committee on Official Development Assistance (ODA), said that he will call officials of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) when the Senate resumes session “to show us progress of the projects whether it is good . . . so that we can pick up from there.”
Standing out as an item in deals disadvantageous to the government, according to him, was the allegedly bloated exchange rate applied to the MRT (Metro Rail Transit), LRT (Light Rail Transit) 1 and airport projects.
The Transportation department’s approved budget for 2011 was P30.759 billion aside from government projects funded by Official Development Assistance.
“I will surely scrutinize the details and the amounts of the projects and since it is budget time, we can see the details of the transactions and the backgrounds of the contractors,” Recto said.
He added that he also will look into the Commission on Audit (COA) advising the Transportation department to stop awarding a contract to a company that was considered “blacklisted.”
The Times, in a recent exclusive, identified the company as Thales Australia Ltd., which had won bidding for the Communications, Navigation and Surveillance/Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM) project.
Thales used to be the Thompson-CSF Group, who had failed to deliver on its contract package for the Globe Maritime Distress Safety System (GMDSS), which resulted in the Philippine Coast Guard resorting to the use of its antiquated system in its maritime operations.
A source also recently told The Times that the CNS/ATM project worth P13 billion should be quashed because the existing Manila Air Control Center can still effectively manage local air traffic.
Source: http://www.manilatimes.net/news/topstories/senate-panel%E2%80%99s-trust-seen-all-for-naught/
Residents or Manila travel out of town to head north to Pampanga to relax, unwind and spend a few nights in the new hotel rooms situated right on the lake of Clearwater Resort in Clark Airbase. Many visitors and tourists enjoy the feeling of waking up by the lake. The sunrise produces a spectacular sight with the sunlight reflection on the calm surface of the three-hectare fresh water lake of this famous resort in Clark.
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When in Clark, make plans to relax and enjoy an evening at The London Pub located in Mimosa Leisure Estate of Clark Pampanga. This highly recommended resto bar where all the local executives of Pampanga, local and foreign tourists visiting Angeles City, Subic and Clark Philippines gather after a full day of fun or work.
The London Pub is a very popular resto bar for residents, tourists, business executives and visitors from Manila to hang out, drink, relax and unwind after work or a game of golf during the day. Fine English cuisine, family comfort food is served. It is also very famous for the best fish n chips in the Philippines.
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This web site contains articles and information that will be helpful to visitors, residents and tourists traveling out of town from Manila on a short getaway to Subic, Angeles City, Pampanga and Clark Philippines. There are several web sites that contain information that might also be pertinent to what is happening in North Luzon, Subic, Tarlac, Pampanga, Clark Freeport Philippines.
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For assistance with lodgings, accommodations, hotels and resorts near Manila in Subic, Pampanga, Angels City and Clark Philippines log on to http://www.HotelClarkPhilippines.com
While in Clark, one might as well add to the itinerary a visit to the famous Clark Wine Center, the largest wine shop in Philippines which offers over 2000 selections of fine vintage wine from all wine regions, vintages spanning over 50 years covering all price ranges.
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