September 29, 2005 · Posted in: Governance, In the News
U.P. study finds North Rail contract illegal, disadvantageous to government
IN today’s Senate hearing, the U.P. Law Center will present the findings of its study on the US$503-million North Rail project that would rehabilitate the old north rail line of the Philippine National Railways from Caloocan to Malolos in Bulacan.
The study conducted by U.P. legal and technical experts renders legal, economic, financial and technical opinion on two main documents:
- the contract between North Luzon Railways Corp. (NLRC) and the Chinese contractor — China National Machinery and Equipment Corp. (CNMEC)
- buyer credit loan agreement (BCLA) between the Export-Import Bank of China and the Philippine government
What the U.P. study says:
LEGAL ISSUES
The North Rail contract is unlawful and void for lack of competitive bidding as required by Republic Act No. 9184, the Government Procurement Reform Act.
The project is not exempt from RA 9184 as it applies to procurement of infrastructure projects regardless of source of funds, local or foreign, by all government agencies, including government-owned and -controlled corporations.
The contract and BCLA are not in the nature of treaties or executive agreements to justify a negotiated procurement. The contract is an agreement between a government corporation and a state corporation created under the laws of the People’s Republic of China (PROC). The BCLA, on the other hand, is an agreement between the Philippine government and Exim Bank.
A treaty, as defined by the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, is an international agreement concluded between States in written form and governed by international law.
Clause 2 of contract provides that it be read and construed in accordance with Philippine laws. BCLA, on the other hand, requires that it shall be governed and construed in accordance with PROC rules.
As a treaty, it will require concurrence of the Senate by at least two-thirds of all its members.
The contract is of questionable validity for its failure to comply with the Government Auditing Code and the Administrative Code of 1987 which require that contracts should first be certified as having the necessary and available appropriation. Of the total project cost of US$503 million, government’s counterpart fund amounts to US$107 million. When the contract was perfected, the loan agreement with Exim Bank of China was yet to be executed.
The BCLA is of questionable legality as it lacks the required prior concurrence of the Monetary Board. Section 20, Article VII of the Constitution provides that:The President may contract or guarantee foreign loans on behalf of the Republic of the Philippines with the prior concurrence of the Monetary Board, and subject to such limitations as may be provided by law.
Records show no formal concurrence in the form of a resolution of the Monetary Board.
ECONOMIC, FINANCIAL AND TECHNICAL ISSUES
The North Rail project lacks detailed engineering design and transparent competitive tender to be able to ascertain if the project cost is the best value-for-money that the Philippine government could have secured.
The nature of the loan — a buyer’s credit — as a “tied loan” whose terms are a three-percent interest rate payable within 20 years inclusive of a a five-year grace period makes it very expensive.The designation of CNMEC as prime contractor for the project was a precondition for the grant of the loan.
The loan also has some strange features: a down payment equal to five percent of the contract price (due within 30 days upon signing of the loan agreement); and advance payment of 25 percent to the Chinese contractor within 15 days of contract effectivity.
Contrary to official pronouncements, the North Rail project is not financially viable. All the existing rail lines in the country are losing money and heavily subsidized by the government. The North Rail will be no different unless some form of subsidy mechanisms will be adopted to sustain its operations.
The Chinese contractor has no technical capability to undertake the North Rail project. It has no expertise or proven track record in turnkey railway projects.
CNMEC’s full corporate name is China National Machinery and Equipment Import and Export Corporation, a trading company. The omission of “Import and Export” may have been intentional to hide the fact of CNMEC’s lack of technical qualification as a contractor of the North Rail project.
While it claims to be ranked no. 37 (now ranked no. 47) by the Global Engineering News Record in the list of 225 largest international contractors in 2004, the CNMEC is also ranked no. 14
nowhere to be foundon the ENR’s list of top 60 Chinese contractors.
The North Rail project is a downgraded version of the old plan started by the Bases Conversion Development Authority in 1995 and formalized in 1998. The plan was for a commuter service as well as an airport express link to the future Clark International Airport (since renamed Diosdado Macapagal International Airport). The modest objective now is reviving the old PNR north line using a conventional commuter train system in abundance in China that runs on diesel.
The U.P. study recommends the cancellation of the contract and the filing of appropriate law suits. If warranted, criminal, civil and/or adminsitrative cases should be filed against the concerned public officials and private individuals. Further action on the BCLA needs to be studied.
44 Responses to U.P. study finds North Rail contract illegal, disadvantageous to government
penpenpen88
September 29th, 2005 at 4:20 pm
Hope this is not one of those wrong contracts that the administration will find a loophole with n declare legal agen.. god help us taxpayers if we are made to shoulder this kinda nonproductive expenses agen. PPA in the making… God help us talaga..
concerned citizen
September 29th, 2005 at 5:06 pm
kaya nga pinatay impeachment dahil dito sa anomalous contract ng north railway project ng arroyo govt. ayaw nilang malaman ng tao ang kanilang mga kawalanghiyaan. biro mo illegal at pera na naman ni juan dela cruz ang nakasalalay dito. kawawa naman tayo. lubog na sa utang. wala ng pagasang makaahon kung ganitong gobyerno ni arroyo.
dapat managot ang mga involved sa kontrata. plunder kaso dito. grabe sobrang pahirap na ito. sila lang naman ang makikinabang. kaya pala si jdv ginawa lahat ng effort to kill the impeachment.
penpenpen88
September 29th, 2005 at 5:18 pm
i think we should execute ms macapagal arroyo if found guilty.. that should set a good example..
tabz
September 29th, 2005 at 6:57 pm
not just her, everyone that is a partaker of the deeds, lahat ng nsa syndicate behind her shld be executed as well..
schumey
September 29th, 2005 at 7:12 pm
I overheard in the senate hearing that Japan has donated coaches for the PNR. Why do we have to buy coaches from China? I have often traveled to Japan and have takn their trains. I suppose that with their railway system and their machines perfected through years of development are far more superior than that of the Chinese. I understand that we this this syatem for commerce and trade but at what cost? We’re not even sure if the equipment would last considering the notoriority of China-made products. The contract does not even stipulate if this equipment is refurbished or brandnew. I just wonder how this government can sellout the Philippines. Supplies were also awarded to a certain William Go. I suspect that money has changed hands once again.
jun31
September 29th, 2005 at 8:41 pm
penpenpen88 and tabz,
I would rather see them behind the cold bars of Muntinlupa.
peacelabenpinay
September 30th, 2005 at 10:41 am
When GMA was advised that the PIATCO Contracts (NAIA Terminal III) were disadvantageous to the government, she DECLARED it void even before the Supreme Court decides on the case. Will she declare the Northrail Contract illegal also??? I doubt. Contracts executed during her regime are worse because they are not only disadvantageous to the Filipino People, they also prostituted our sovereignty (Venable) and raped our economy (Northrail).
mariatoo
September 30th, 2005 at 10:57 am
may na release na noong aug 2004 na hundreds of millions of dollars from the loan of that northrail project pero hanggang ngayon hindi pa inuumpisahan yung proyekto. asan ang pera? sino may hawak? we are paying 700Kphp a day in interest for that. i smell mike arroyo here…as in piatco.
got the info from abc 5. they’re reporting is superior to that of abs and gma. that abbie something is one astute reporter. abs has a good one too in nadia trinidad. pero na ne-negate na saksakan-ng-bobong-nagpapanggap-na-matalinong julius babao. the guy’s an idiot if there ever is one. susmio. i wonder what a cum laude up grad like tintin bersola saw in him.
baycas
September 30th, 2005 at 3:00 pm
not to mention in this whole project is the problem where the rail tracks will be constructed. relocation of the informal settlers in “homes along the riles” is quite a slow-paced task for housing czar noli de castro.
(additional read)
with all the “hitches” tied to arroyo’s biggest infrastructure project, it’s no wonder why prof. harry roque opined that the contract could be another Piatco fiasco.
penpenpen88
September 30th, 2005 at 4:25 pm
think the question here is if the government has enough cash to subsidize the train operations in the long run.. and if we really need the dang thing anyways… bat di nalang kaya i bot yan?? bat kailangan tayo pa magbayad sa palpak na proyekto na yan.. using slow diesel trains just to carry passegengers to diosdado macapagal airport.. un lang ung role ng train.. wala man lang freight.. so sinung makikinabang dyan?? yung mga tourista?? tapos tayong di naman gumagamit dyan ang nagbabayad??? if kampante sila sa proyektong yan.. bat di nalang po pero nyo ang gamitin mrs arroyo.. mr ramos.. mr de venecia.. mga engot na congressmen.. put ur money were ur mouth is.. dont waste ours please.. we are burdened enough thanks to you..
tikboy
September 30th, 2005 at 4:37 pm
dapat diyan guillotine!
atom
October 2nd, 2005 at 9:45 pm
first lesson to learn !!!!A Cabinet Advicer to the president or she herself must consult the inter agency of the govt. for what ever steps so that proper measures are to be done before entering into contract.This is tranparency as she Ate Glo said in State of the Nation ha ha ha very basic eto for any form of govt.or corporate estate .Even the thousand years of primitive tribe learn to consult . I dont know the tribe of Ate Glo is?
second lesson ,we filipino people learn not to occupy the land of the govt if ? it will involved the public utilities,and also private land. Go to country side learn to love the nature in the provinces.See the impact now ,govt is spending billion for relocation.
God Bless the Philippines and Gloria M. to do do what is right.
I challenge her with all her power to bring Garcillano back in the Philippines.If she do I will praised her for her bravery.
INSIDE PCIJ: Stories behind our stories » Nightmare at North Rail
October 2nd, 2005 at 11:24 pm
[…] Last week, the Senate began hearings on the North Rail project. So far, the testimonies have focused on the allegedly onerous and illegal provisions of the North Rail contract. Little attention has been paid to the fact that rehabilitating the 80-kilometer North Rail means evicting more than 200,000 people. […]
baycas
October 5th, 2005 at 8:24 am
why get CNMEG for this project? the lower house of congress’ expertise is just what we need. the “experts” has the proficiency for railroading.
coffee_drinker
October 7th, 2005 at 4:39 pm
This has reference to Pabico’s intro about CNMEC’s rank in ENR’s latest survey below:
“While it claims to be ranked no. 37 (now ranked no. 47) by the Global Engineering News Record in the list of 225 largest international contractors in 2004, the CNMEC is nowhere to be found on the ENR’s list of top 60 Chinese contractors.”
I visited ENR’s site to personally check how CNMEC ranks in the survey. Contrary to what Aleck said, however, CNMEC ranks no. 14 in the Top Chinese Contractors category for 2005. Hence, the clause “nowhere to be found” is not entirely correct.
I also checked if CNMEC has a website, but my search yield not so much information about the company. What I found is a write-up about CNMEIEC (or China National MAchinery & Equipment Import and Export Corporation) which says CNMEIEC is CNMEC’s core business. Hence, CNMEIEC is part of CNMEC or CNMEC may have changed their name to CNMEIEC sometime between 2003 and today or after the contract between NLRC and CNMEC was perfected. It really is confusing because when you check CNMEIEC’s website (the acronym by the way in the site is now CMEC), it said the company was established in 1978. Hence, if this is a new company, it shouldn’t have been established in 1978.
So my guess is that CNMEC and CNMEIEC (or CMEC) are the same companies. In CMEC’s website, it said they have been successfully selected as one of ENR’s top 225 International Contractors in 2003. But if you’ll check ENR’s site again, it is CNMEC that appears in the list.
Alecks Pabico
October 7th, 2005 at 4:56 pm
coffee_drinker,
Thanks for the correction. I may have overlooked that. And yes, it was also difficult to find its website considering the variation in name which the U.P. report pointed out.
Still, if the Philippine government wanted a better deal, wouldn’t it have considered getting the top Chinese contractors who are into railway construction — China Railway Engineering Corporation and China Railway Construction Corporation, ranked 2nd and 3rd respectively? That’s the point the U.P. technical study was trying to make.
coffee_drinker
October 7th, 2005 at 5:10 pm
Alecks,
You’re right. Even the term “railway” can’t be found in the company name which means railways are not their expertise. The company deals principally in contracting international engineering projects and expoting and importing plants and equipments. Hence, the reason for them being shortlisted in the list of top “contractors” and not in the list of top “designers.”
This is another PIATCO in the making!
Alecks Pabico
October 7th, 2005 at 5:48 pm
coffee_drinker,
Atty. Harry Roque of the U.P. Law Center says it’s like PIATCO in the sense that the contract could be nullified. The ruling of the Supreme Court in the PIATCO and Comelec cases emphasized the strict application of the procurement law and bidding rules in such projects.
But he says North Rail’s case is so much worse. At least, PIATCO was subjected to the BOT (build, operate, transfer) Law, although its compliance was literal and the company was later found out to have no financial standing. The North Rail contract did not pass through any bidding process.
baycas
October 7th, 2005 at 10:43 pm
the whole project: ambitious dream to a few, a nightmare to some (the informal settlers)…will it be beneficial to many?
…CNMEG is the acronym: http://www.cosco.com/en/news/detail.jsp?docId=5371
i was able to log on to these websites when this blog was posted by mr. pabico last sept. 29:
http://www.cnmeg.com/
http://www.cnmeg.com/english/about/index.htm
i don’t know why i can’t view the sites anymore…“baka nainis na sila???”
in fairness to the project proponents, please read:
http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=alvinCapino_oct04_2005
nonetheless, i’m still skeptical ‘cause the gloria and joe dv are dubious characters…
baycas
October 7th, 2005 at 11:31 pm
additional read on CNMEG: http://news.inq7.net/opinion/index.php?index=2&story_id=51569&col=79
penpenpen88
October 7th, 2005 at 11:42 pm
sorry but i dont find wasting 400 or so million dollars on a project that will only carry passengers to the macapagal airport justified.. gawin nalang nila ng hiway baka mas lalo pa nating pakinabangan since both passenger and freight can cross.. as to the viability.. the reason why the old pnr folded kasi it cant sustain operations without government subsidy.. as with other countries… madalang lang tlga yung railroad na kumikita.. bakit kamo? kasi it travels the same routes as what our hiways traverse.. a study did way way back by pnr itself confirms this.. so in effect well be creating a project na wlang masyadong magpapatronize.. but babayarin natin kasi inutang natin yan eh.. tapos after a few years sasabihin ng government it cant sustain operations anymore.. or said goverment will tell us to tighten our belts even more kasi now we have this burden of paying and subsidising a train we dont use.. that’s under designed.. biro mo diesel lang na 60 miles an hour.. e pag nag car ka eh 100 110 kph.. ?? does it makes sense u guys?? ganyan po ang government natin.. naghahanap ng mga means not to lighten but to burden us more.. mga illogical mga yan.. haaayy… i think god really favors the stupid and the thieves coz.. they always get away with it..
Alecks Pabico
October 8th, 2005 at 5:39 pm
baycas,
Could just be a case of server downtime. I was able to check the CNMEG site you mentioned. I just don’t know where Capino got his facts about the railway projects that CNMEG has supposedly built or is involved in as its site does not declare these among the company’s business achievements.
The only projects listed in engineering construction and supervisory work are the following:
Unfortunately, there’s no way to check when the site was last updated to verify the currency of its content. The page source information only states when it was created, December 17, 2002.
I also tried Googling the CNMEG railway projects Capino mentioned in his column. Using the project names as keywords and adding CNMEG, the only page that was returned is Capino’s column.
Searching only for the project names, the returned pages/sites do not even mention CNMEG, except in the case of the Teheran Metro Rail project in Iran where the China National Electric Equipment Corporation (CNEEC), a branch corporation of CNMEG, is reported to have “completed a number of large projects, such as Tehran Metro Lines 1 and 2 (Iran).”
I surmise that, based on its expertise, CNEEC’s involvement in this railway project was in the area of power transmission, substation and distribution.
The general contractor of the project was China International Trust and Investment Corporation (now known as the CITIC Group), as reported in an article in the China Daily site.
As for the railway rehabilitation project in Angola, I was able to find this page suggesting a link to a Chinese contractor, but not CNMEG. The contractor undertaking the first phase of the project is Transtech Engineering Corporation (TEC) of the China Railway Erju Group Corporation (CREGC), which is a company distinct from CNMEG.
KaBlog
October 8th, 2005 at 6:39 pm
It is doubtful where Mr. Capino got his information about CNMEG. Di kaya merong nagbigay sa kanya ng mga milestones ng CNMEG para magawan niya ng magandang article (maganda nga ba??)
Magkano kaya ang image building fee na tinanggap para lamang mapabango ang CNMEG at ang north rail project? Wala namang masama sa proyekto kaya lang yung pamamaraan ng gobyerno upang maisakatuparan ang proyektong ito eh talaga namang kaduda-duda. Isipin mo namang wala man lamang BIDDING samantalang milyong dolyares ang nakataya!
Sigurado, nasa likod na naman dito si Mr. Ten Percent Mike Arroyo noong kasalukuyang niluluto ang kontrata.
jr_lad
October 8th, 2005 at 9:20 pm
si jdv raw ang nagconvinced kay gloria para maaprobahan eto. wala raw alam si gloria tungkol sa project. just like na sinabi naman ni bunye na si drillon daw ang nag-advice kay gloria para sa kanyang “i am sorry” speech. akala ko ba sinasabi nilang matalino si gloria? eh sa pinapalusot nila ngayon, lumalalabas na uto-uto pala etong si gloria. kalokohan na naman. lahat na lang nang pagtatakip at kasinungalingan ay ginawa na ng mga bataan niya para lang mailigtas ang amo nila.
baycas
October 8th, 2005 at 10:58 pm
thanks, alecks.
yup, kablog, they’re really pushing for the project to gain public acceptance. palace’s media extension Star had an article describing the “sweetest” of all government deals so far – http://www.philstar.com/philstar/NEWS200510052602.htm .
we are so lucky to accept “candy” from China…the trouble is, what’s the catch? “nakakaduda talaga!”
can you trust gloria & the gang? how about the Commies?
kapatiran
October 8th, 2005 at 11:36 pm
Deliberate error in UP Law Center’s NorthRail study
By Efren L. Danao, The Manila Times Senior Reporter
Did the prestigious UP Law Center commit a deliberate error in its study on the government contract with a Chinese company for the $503 million, 32-kilometer NorthRail project?
Officials of the North Luzon Railways Corp. and the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said the UP Law Center downloaded the wrong Chinese company and so made the wrong conclusions.
Transportation Undersecretary Jose Cortez Jr. of the NLRC and NEDA Undersecretary Benny Reynoso told de Castro that the UP Law Center used data from the China National Machinery and Equipment Import-Export to conclude that the company had never done any railway construction project of the magnitude of the NorthRail project.
The two officials said the data downloaded from the Internet by the center pertained to one of 70 companies of the China National Machinery and Equipment Group (CNMEG), which is the true contracting party.
“CNMEG is No. 37 among 225 top construction companies in the world. Had the UP Law Center contacted us instead of merely relying on the Internet, we could have immediately called its attention to this error,” Cortez said.
Vice President Noli De Castro wondered if the error was deliberate because the center had actively supported the impeachment of President Arroyo, and the NorthRail project was one of the issues raised in the complaint.
“But whether intentional or unintentional, the fact remains that the UP Law Center committed a mistake,” de Castro said.
The Senate committee of the whole is investigating the controversial project. It devoted its first hearing to the presentation of the legal, financial and technical study by the law center. No member of the Cabinet attended the hearing. Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said the Cabinet members needed a copy of the UP study and transcripts of the hearing before they could reply to criticisms.
The investigation was prompted by a privileged speech delivered by Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile on February 14, 2005. The Office of the President later wrote to Enrile, clarifying the issues. The controversy waned until the Senate majority leader, Francis Pangilinan, revived it two weeks ago and scheduled the meeting of the Senate committee of the whole.
vonpogi
October 9th, 2005 at 12:17 am
Hey mga kababayan kong pilipino nag laan ng $10 millions ang USA para ikahuhuli ng utak sa pagbobomba at utak sa pangugulo. Dapat ay ituro natin si Arroyo dahil siya ang may gawa ng gulo sa pilipinas (mga alagad niya na nagpapasabog sa mataong lugar at ibintang sa mga NPA or MNLF). Iyun nga lang hindi siya nagtatago dahil sa kapal ng mukha.
katakataka
October 9th, 2005 at 1:07 am
Huwag nyo namang gaanong laitin si Mrs. Gloria Arroyo, kahit ganon yon parang tao na rin yon.
koj
October 9th, 2005 at 4:06 am
penpen, 60 mph is equivalent to 96 kph at 1.6 factor. a railroad if reliable is much better and cheaper than travelling by car, look at the subway systems in hongkong, japan and new york or the railroad system around US. if our govt can connect metro manila from the north and hopefully the south eventually, manila would decongest and neighbouring towns and cities would progress substantially. cargo carts if not included in this questionable contract could be added and should be a good alternative in trasporting goods.
hopefully a similar but legal and transparent project would come out if this present contract is proven illegal.
baycas
October 9th, 2005 at 6:32 am
with the “railroad” track record of the present administration, one is not to be blamed for doubting. mrs. Hide (altered from jekyll-and-hyde phenomenon gloria is exhibiting) ought to prove accountability and transparency in her government. failing to do that, i believe she’ll be a lameduck leader throughout her stolen term!
kapatiran
October 9th, 2005 at 12:34 pm
Next to the mothballed nuclear power plant in Bataan, the LRT1 project was the most maligned development scheme. I could say that the Bataan Nuclear Plant was indeed overpriced and very anomalous. However, the LRT1 project is truly very beneficial to the country and the people, as well as the succeeding LRT and MRT programs.
As things are going now, the Northrail Project is encountering the same opposition. At the end of the day, however, Northrail would again result to great benefits for the country and the Filipino people.
Those against the Northrail and other useful government projects are inventing lies and wittingly creating deceitful studies to serve their objective of grabbing political power.
The Senate under Drilon has spent more than Php300 million for each enacted law. PCIJ should focus its efforts investigating that.
koj
October 9th, 2005 at 1:02 pm
fairly said kapatiran…
as long as its transparent and legal, a railroad project will be beneficial to the Filipino people.
i’m not for investigating every enacted law (so much of a task) but rather comparing each hearing (in aid of legislation) against an enacted law. let’s see how efficient or grandstanding both houses made at the expense of the filipino people.
at the end i believe both executive and legislative performances are both below par.
vonpogi
October 9th, 2005 at 2:35 pm
TO KATAKATAKA…
katakataka said,
October 9, 2005 @ 1:07 am
Huwag nyo namang gaanong laitin si Mrs. Gloria Arroyo, kahit ganon yon parang tao na rin yon.
ANO ANG GUSTO MO GAWIN NAMIN SA IDOLO MONG MAGNANAKAW. PURIHIN. BILIB NA RIN AKO SA IYO DAHIL NASISIKMURA MO AT KAYA MONG IPAG TANGGOL SI MADAM MAGNANAKAW. HINDI TAO IYAN . KUNDI KUTONG LUPA KAYA GANOON KADUMI ANG UTAK. KAYA PALA KATAKATAKA KA EH.
schumey
October 11th, 2005 at 2:57 am
Alecks, Baycas, Coffee Drinker,
I did check out the CNMEG site and I did not see anything about their railroad projects. Most where in power and machinery. They are also involved in auto parts manufacturing. I just wonder where Mr. Capino and other “journalists” got their facts.
Alecks, could you give me more links to CNMEG? And if you could also report in detail your findings with regards to its projects. Mahirap kasi for the others to have a picture of what CNMEG really is.
Yung commnetary ni Jarius Bondoc, hindi kaya in exchange yon for his appointment to the CON-COM?
Alecks Pabico
October 11th, 2005 at 7:48 am
schumey,
I can only guess but what I’ve heard is that CNMEG sponsored the all-expenses paid trip of a group of journalists to China prior to the Senate investigation on the North Rail contract.
LCsiao
October 11th, 2005 at 8:28 am
Kasama ba si Ces Drilon sa sponsored trip na iyon?
INSIDE PCIJ: Stories behind our stories » U.P. Law Center clarifies its North Rail study
October 12th, 2005 at 4:41 pm
[…] We write to clarify certain matters raised regarding the opinion prepared by the UP Law Center (UPLC) on the Northrail project. […]
baycas
October 12th, 2005 at 10:43 pm
alvin capino was in China with cortes. ha said so in his radio program yesterday when he interviewed cortes.
…something’s fishy…”sabi na nga ba.”
baycas
November 2nd, 2005 at 3:19 pm
the relocation of the squatters is one of my misgivings in this northrail project.
more on getting the squatters off the sides of the track http://news.inq7.net/opinion/index.php?index=1&story_id=55054 .
INSIDE PCIJ: Stories behind our stories » Apologies and clarifications: The byzantine politics of the U.P. College of Law
November 15th, 2005 at 7:53 pm
[…] The information was relayed to our reporter on the eve of the hearing by a lawyer who was familiar with the North Rail case, and confirmed to us by another lawyer, also with the U.P. law faculty, who was similarly involved in the legal issues of the North Rail contract. Both these sources had proved reliable in the past and were consulted by us on many legal matters, including those concerning the goings-on at the law school. […]
INSIDE PCIJ: Stories behind our stories » Survivor of the Year
January 3rd, 2006 at 6:54 pm
[…] A noisy Senate: For sure, the senators will not shut up. After the House junked the impeachment complaint in September, the show moved to the Senate, with the denizens of the Upper Chamber initiating one investigation after another into all of Arroyo’s alleged sins, ranging from the allegedly flawed North Rail contract to the use of agricultural funds for the 2004 campaign. The noise at the Senate will mean that Arroyo will not get any peace, as her opponents there will continue to rake the coals of scandal. The heat is on and it’s Gloria on the hot seat for most of the coming year, especially if a second impeachment complaint passes the House and the Senate presides over the impeachment trial. […]
LuckyEd13
June 22nd, 2006 at 3:20 pm
Mga PU__NG _NA nyo, kayo kaya maghanap ng $503 million para sa isang socially relevant project? Puro kayo reklamo, eh wala naman kau nagagawang matino. Ilan ba sa inyo ang nagbabayad ng tamang tax? Kayong mga walang maitong, wag na lang maging perwisyo! Dapat sa inyong mga lefitists at mga komunista, pinapa sagasaan sa tren! mga gago@!
LuckyEd13
June 22nd, 2006 at 4:53 pm
Isara na yang UP na yan, ano ba un? University ng mga Puta! Wala na kayo nagawang matino, feeling nyo kau lng ang magaling d2 sa Pilipinas, when in fact, BREEDING GROUND KAYO NG MGA KOMUNISTA AT MGA CORRUPT NG POLITIKO!
The Daily PCIJ » Blog Archive » Bicameral committee showdown on 2007 budget
September 17th, 2008 at 6:47 pm
[…] among the deleted unprogrammed appropriations is the P5.9-billion payment to the China National Machinery and Equipment Corp. (Group), the Chinese contractor of the controversial North Rail railway rehabilitation project spanning […]