Quezon-Araneta underpass opened could save ₱240 million Gas a Year

THE 44-meter underpass was completed three months ahead of schedule. PHOTO/MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

Faster travel and fuel savings now await thousands of motorists and commuters negotiating Quezon Avenue and Araneta Avenue in Quezon City every day.

 

The ₱430-million underpass on the corner of the busy intersection was finally completed and opened Friday noon, three months ahead of schedule and cheaper by more than ₱200 million, after 15 months of construction.

 

President Aquino, who rode a pickup with Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. and Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson for the inaugural drive through the 440-meter interchange project under a downpour, praised public works officials for a job well-done.

 

"Who wouldn't be impressed? The original ₱694-million budget was reduced to ₱430 million, and it was completed ahead of schedule,'' Mr. Aquino said in brief remarks.

 

The underpass is projected to ease traffic congestion on both major thoroughfares that are traversed by more than 100,000 vehicles every day.

 

"This will bring much relief to the people,'' Singson said.

 

Originally, it was projected to be completed in 18 months, from June 20, 2011 to Dec. 10, 2012, and was allocated ₱694.15 million in the national budget. After some changes in the design, the projected cost was reduced to ₱534.6 million. The final cost was pegged at ₱430 million.

 

"This project is very important because more than 100,000 vehicles pass through here every day. If you save up P6 in gas, that's ₱20 million a month, and ₱240 million a year. We spent ₱430 million; in two years we will recover that because of the savings in gas,'' Singson told the President in a briefing inside a tent.

 

The savings in the project could be used for other projects in the city, he added.

 

The underpass stretches for 440 meters, and has two lanes in opposite directions. Its construction led to the improvement of the road, as well as installation of street lights and drainage facilities.

 

DPWH Undersecretary Romeo Momo, who is in charge of regional operations, said that the underpass would not be flooded even if heavy rains hit Metro Manila.

 

President Benigno S. Aquino III, accompanied by House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte, Jr., Public Works and Highways Secretary Rogelio Singson and Quezon City Representative Jorge Banal, leads the inaugural drive-through to formally open the Quezon-Araneta underpass in Quezon City on Friday. 

A portion of Araneta Avenue is usually flooded during a heavy downpour. Residents in the area also become instant evacuees as they usually had to flee their homes when it rains.

 

Momo said that all measures were taken to address potential problems like flooding in the area. He said the DPWH increased all the drainage capacity in the particular junction.

 

According to Momo, the underpass was designed with three submersible pumps and a water cistern that can suck out 277 liters of water a second in case of flooding, and an electric generating set for standby power. It has diaphragm walls that serve as retaining walls.

 

"We put a huge cistern that will be connected to a pumping system. These three pumps will pump out all the excess water that is collected at the cistern. This is the same design we used in the other underpasses," he said.

 

"This is not the first underpass that DPWH has done. We have underpasses in EDSA, Quezon Avenue and Makati City which do not submerge in floods," Momo added.

 

Furthermore, he explained that the Quezon-Araneta underpass was built on an elevated ground, which minimized the possibility of flooding.

 

Earlier in the day, the President inaugurated the North Rizal Water System Project in Barangay Payatas, Quezon City, which will service residents in Quezon City, Marikina and San Mateo town in Rizal.

 

"North Rizal Water System Project will use its own transmission mains to bring quality water to more or less 1 million residents of East Zone,'' he said in his speech.

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Panatag Re-Stand-off: Philippines will send back Warship, New People Army raise hands to Fight with Army to Defeat China invaders

 

The Philippine government may soon send back its ships to Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal if China does not comply with an earlier agreement between the two countries to pull out their vessels from the hotly-contested rock formation in the West Philippine Sea, according to Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario.

 

At the sidelines of the Center for Strategic and International Studies forum in Washington, DC Wednesday (Thursday in Manila), where he was invited as keynote speaker, Del Rosario said China reneged on the agreement reached sometime in June during negotiations in Manila between him and Chinese Ambassador Ma Keqing.

 

"There was an agreement between the two countries that ships will be pulled out from the shoal. The Philippines pulled out their ship but the Chinese did not comply with the agreement," said Del Rosario during the question-and-answer portion.

 

"We believe they (China) should do this and of course if they continue to violate Philippine sovereign rights in that area, then we will have to consider a response. We do not know what that response is just yet," he added.

 

The Philippines insists Panatag Shoal (also known locally as Bajo de Masinloc), which is 124 nautical miles off Masinloc in Zambales, is part of its territory. A similar claim is being made by China on historical grounds.

 

China refused to consider the Philippine position to settle the dispute by bringing the matter before an international arbitration body, saying the matter should be discussed bilaterally.

 

Recent reconnaissance flights of the Philippine Air Force showed that China still has three government ships outside the shoal's lagoon. The Chinese have also cordoned off the shoal's entrance using ropes.

 

President Aquino ordered the withdrawal of two government ships from the shoal last June due to bad weather. Independent fishing bans were likewise raised by Manila and Beijing over the area, supposedly to diffuse the tension but Chinese fishermen continued to fish there.

 

Del Rosario, in his keynote speech, again called for a rules-based approach in resolving the territorial dispute in the West Philippine Sea, saying it is the only legitimate and viable way to address the issue.

 

"Let me make it clear: our foreign policy does not seek to isolate one country, nor even force the resolution of a dispute. Our core interest lies in being able to contribute to ensuring that the global security and economic system is based firmly on the rule of law. We are firmly committed to helping build an international system that will be just and fair to all states, regardless of economic size or power," he said.

 

Under the rules-based approach, countries would be governed by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) treaty, which defines the rights and responsibilities of nations in their use of the world's oceans, establishing guidelines for businesses, the environment, and the management of marine natural resources.

 

"We want to establish an actionable framework to define, clarify, and segregate, in accordance with the UNCLOS, the disputed and non-disputed areas of the West Philippine Sea. This would pave the way for feasible cooperation between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and China in the medium-term," he said.

 

Del Rosario said the Philippines is still studying the possibility of a dispute settlement mechanism under UNCLOS.

 

As for the diplomatic track, he said Manila will continue to keep channels of discussions with China open. He cited his meeting last month with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, which, he said, shows that high-level contact between Manila and Beijing is being maintained.

 

New People's Army "Local Reds" vow to fight with AFP forces vs Chinese aggression

 

Philippine communist rebels, while embracing the ideology of Mao Zedong, will not side with China in the event the two countries' territorial dispute in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) gets ugly.

 

Jorge Madlos, spokesperson of National Democratic Front in Mindanao, said New People's Army rebels will fight alongside government security forces if China declared war on the Philippines.

 

"If there is a direct foreign invasion of our country, the focus of the revolutionary movement would be to fight the foreign aggressor," Madlos, also known as Ka Oris, told the Inquirer in a telephone interview.

 

He said Filipinos stood no chance of winning any war with China if it were fought at sea but if it were to be fought on land, "they (Chinese) don't stand a chance."

 

Madlos acknowledged that China was a superpower but that fact should not cow Filipinos who should  defend their country at all cost.

 

However, the senior local communist leader said, he did not believe that China would press its claims over the West Philippine Sea to the extent of going to war with the Philippines and other claimant-countries.

 

"I don't think China is foolhardy to attack us and wage war with the Philippines," Madlos said.

 

He also said Malacañang should not be too dependent on the United States as it was not helpful in resolving the territorial dispute with China.

 

"China has looked at us like we are pawns of the US. Because of that outlook, whatever step we take will be suspected of having been dictated by the US," Madlos said.

 

He said seeking assistance from the US "undermines the resolve of the Filipinos."

 

Malaya, Inquirer

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