SEC. ANDANAR: Pilipinas, dito sa Cabinet Report ilang ulit nating binabalikan ang mga salitang ‘Whole of National Approach’ na nagpapahiwatig ng pagnanais ng ating pamahalaan na walang maiiwang bahagi ng bansa sa pagdating sa pag-ahon sa kahirapan lalung-lalo na ngayong tayo ay nasa ilalim ng pandemya. Kaya ngayong gabi, ang ating pag-uusapan ay naka-focus sa mga rehiyon sa labas ng National Capital Region.

Dalawang parte po ang ating programa ngayong gabi, sa unang bahagi ay tatapusin natin ang ating panayam kay DPWH Secretary Mark Villar at aalamin ang mga proyekto ng kanyang kagawaran sa mga rehiyon sa labas ng Kamaynilaan.

Sa ikalawa, pag-uusapan natin ang bakuna. Oo, parating na ang mga ito, pero papaano nga ba ang mga ito ay maihahatid sa iba’t ibang lungsod at munisipyo ng ating kapuluan. Kaya ba natin itong iparating sa mga malalayong lugar? Aalamin naman namin iyan mula sa kay IATF Deputy Chief Implementer Secretary Vince Dizon at sa mga kinatawan ng mga pribadong logistics at airline companies.

Usapang imprastraktura at pagbabakuna sa buong kapuluan ang ating mga paksa ngayong gabi.

Ito po ang inyong Communication Secretary Martin Andanar, welcome to the Cabinet Report!

Welcome back to the Cabinet Report. Last episode na kasama natin si DPWH Secretary Mark Villar upang pag-usapan ang EDSA Decongestion Program. Ngayong gabi siya ay kausap natin muli tungkol naman sa mga priority infrastructure projects nito sa labas ng Metro Manila ngayong 2021. Bago tayo magsimula sa ating panayam kay Secretary Mark ay aalamin muna natin kung anu-ano ang mga malaking infrastructure project na ito.

(VTR)

SEC. ANDANAR: Sec. Mark, this is the second part of our interview. And I told you that for this episode we will focus on projects outside NCR. You said that this would be a good topic as the larger part of the DPWH budget is actually allocated outside Metro Manila.

SEC. VILLAR: If you noticed a lot of the projects in Metro Manila are actually Public-Private Partnerships. That is so that we can also maximize our resources and free up resources to have more projects in the provincial areas. So, starting with—actually at this point, every major area has some flagship projects and this is something that we are really pushing for. So, like I mentioned earlier we can expect that there will just as many flagship projects delivered in the provinces as they are in the greater Metro Manila area.

SEC. ANDANAR: Secretary, please update us on the progress of key big ticket infrastructure projects outside NCR. Let’s start with Luzon then move on to Visayas and Mindanao.

SEC. VILLAR: Let’s start with some major foreign funded projects such as the Central Luzon Link Expressway that is connecting Tarlac to Cabanatuan, that is around 30 kilometers long and malapit na pong matapos. Actually by the first half of the year mai-inaugurate na iyong Central Luzon Link Expressway, that is a major project. We also have the Plaridel Bypass, one of the longest bypass road in the country. And we have actually, throughout Luzon as part of the Luzon Spine Expressway, we also have a parallel Daang Maharlika which we built a lot of bypasses. So, halos lahat ng major municipalities sa Luzon ay mayroon ng bypass road. Some examples are in—we finished the Candon Bypass. We are currently doing the San Fernando Bypass, we are also doing bypasses actually in every major province in all the region in Luzon there is practically at least one bypass project there. So that’s a lot.

And then if you go to Visayas and Mindanao. In Visayas in Region 6, we are doing widening, bypass roads, across the regions such as in for instance in Aklan, there is also a bypass there and also the road connecting the east and the west, we also have a major project. If you go to Region VII, we have the Metro Cebu Expressway; in Region VIII, we have the Samar Pacific Coastal Road. These are major flagship projects. So, ang dami po.

SEC. ANDANAR: Just as in Metro Manila, it seems DPWH is turning to bypasses and bridges to solve the problem of traffic, Secretary.

SEC. VILLAR: A large part of the traffic decongestion is bypass and bridges, that is why we have so many planned. I mentioned earlier, Luzon, Visayas, even in Mindanao we have the Davao City Bypass Road. We also have other major bridge projects such as the Panguil Bay Bridge that will be the longest bridge ever built in our country. So, that will start very soon.

And we have—this is all part of the promise of the President to make our lives more comfortable. And one way to make our lives more comfortable is to ease the congestion that we deal with, because this translates directly to many—I mean many problems, such as of course first and foremost our time, the longer we spend in traffic, that is less time for our family, less time we are being productive and of course it adds on a lower quality of life.

SEC. ANDANAR: Secretary, sa inyong official social media page, may litrato kayo ng mga taong nagtatrabaho sa isang proyekto #buildbuildbuildjobsjobsjobs. Noong nakaraan, napag-usapan nga natin ang trabaho dala ng mga infrastructure projects. Bakit mahalaga sa iyong mai-post ang picture na ito ng mga manggagawa?

DPWH SEC. VILLAR: Gusto naming ipakita na napakalaki ng tulong ng Build, Build, Build sa ating ekonomiya dahil nagbibigay ng trabaho at nagkakaroon din ng development sa ating mga provincial areas, so doble po iyong benefit ng Build, Build, Build. Habang ginagawa iyong project, nakaka-generate ng trabaho para sa ating mga workers, skilled and unskilled at the same time kapag natapos na iyong project, magkakaroon din ng economic development. Kahit na mga malalayong lugar nagkakaroon ng economic development, so napakalaki po ng benefits sa atin in many ways, habang ginagawa at kapag nagawa na.

SEC. ANDANAR: Napag-uusapan lang itong social media page, ang unang-unang makikita sa page po ay pinned post na may litrato ng Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge. Mukhang espesyal itong proyekto na ito sa inyo, Secretary. Bakit?

DPWH SEC. VILLAR: Napakalaki ng benefit at napakaganda ng project dahil ang iku-connect niyan dalawang region na napakalaki ng development potential. So ito, kumbaga ito na magiging ultimate bypass kasi ang iku-connect niya iyong Region IV-A sa Region III, two of the fastest growing regions. Noong kinompute naman namin iyong return sa project na ito kahit na malaki iyong cost, malaki din iyong economic return sa bansa natin. And in fact, kapag natapos po itong project, ito ay magiging isa sa pinakamahabang bridge sa buong mundo.

So that’s why it’s really a groundbreaking historic project and we’ve been working for years now. In fact at this point, ongoing na iyong detail engineering design and actually kapag natapos na po iyong detail engineering design, ready na siya for implementation. Although realistically hindi naman natin matatapos ito sa term ni President Duterte, malaking bagay po na ready na for implementation itong project dahil napakahaba ng planning, napakamaselan kasi siyempre 20 plus kilometer bridge, one of the longest in the world so it’s really an engineering marble.

SEC. ANDANAR: The way you describe it Secretary Mark, I am reminded now of the coat hanger, iyong napaka-iconic na tulay sa Sidney Harbour sa Australia. This could be your legacy.

DPWH SEC. VILLAR: Not just me, but for the Filipino people of course and this administration. Ito po ay matagal na natin pinapangarap, itong project dahil ang pinag-usapan na natin palagi iyong mga bypass, connectivity. Eh, can you imagine connecting the two of the fastest growing regions in the country and creating a completely new road connecting it. Aside from being one of the longest bridges in the world, I think magiging iconic ito dahil makikita natin sa may Manila Bay, magkakaroon tayo ng bridge. Ang kagandahan po ng project ay na-compute na po iyong benefit ng project at base po sa computation mahigit 15% ang economic rate of return. So sulit talaga iyong gastos natin at ito po ay makakadagdag sa future economic growth ng ating bansa.

SEC. ANDANAR: Ano ang timeframe natin sa project na ito, Secretary Mark?

DPWH SEC. VILLAR: Kailangan tapusin muna natin iyong detailed engineering design. As I said magiging isa sa pinakamahabang tulay sa buong mundo, so definitely medyo mahaba-haba iyong engineering stage. But at this point it’s ongoing, you can expect that maybe in a year matapos na at kapag natapos na po ito, be ready for procurement or awarding. So we’re hoping we can start this within the term of the President and continue onwards in the future. But of course the timetable for a project of this magnitude, medyo mahaba talaga iyong timetable natin. Pero kung talagang pagtitiyagaan natin itong project, napakalaki ng benefit and definitely ito ay magiging pride ng bansa natin.

[AD]

SEC. ANDANAR: Welcome back to the Cabinet Report, kasama pa rin po natin ngayon si DPWH Secretary Mark Villar. Kanina Sec., pinag-usapan natin ang Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge dito sa Luzon. Ngayon naman ay may mga katanungan po tayo tungkol sa ilang proyekto ng DPWH sa Visayas at Mindanao. Magsimula tayo kay Asec. Jonji Gonzales ng Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas. Asec. Jonji…

ASEC. GONZALES: Good evening Secretary Martin and Secretary Mark. It’s an honor to be able to ask these questions related to Cebu and the Visayas. Since 1982, Sec. Mark and Sec. Martin, a south to north Cebu Circumferential Road had already been proposed as a long term solution to the traffic congestion in the central business districts in Metro Cebu. And because of the need to divert the heavy urban traffic using the north-south line from the uptown areas without passing through the downtown areas, even up to this day, severe traffic congestion remains as Cebu’s biggest problem which results in at least 1.1 billion in economic losses. Now more than ever, Cebu needs to explore a diverse and multi-faceted solution. One of these is the promising project of the Mega Cebu Expressway, a bypass from South Naga City to North Danao City. The question is, can DPWH allocate a sizeable budget or initiate PPP?

DPWH SEC. VILLAR: Yes and yes. At this point nakapag-allocate na kami ng almost around 1.3 billion pesos for the third segment actually. Iyon ang ginagawa ngayon, iyong segment 3 na ang starting point niya ay Naga. So iyon ang ginagawa namin ngayon but at the same time we’re also exploring possibility for PPP. Possibly kung may unsolicited, also solicited so open din kami pero siyempre hindi rin kami aasa na sa PPP lang; in case na wala, at least ongoing pa rin iyong Cebu Expressway and rest assured that every year maglalagay kami ng malaking budget para sa Cebu Expressway dahil kailangan nang magkaroon ng solusyon itong traffic sa Cebu.

And of course iyong other projects that we’re working on there, as you know there’s already a bridge in Mactan that’s ongoing, that’s a PPP with the Metro Pacific Group and we’re also planning for another bridge in Mactan also. Aside from that, kasama po sa plano sa bridge ang additional coastal highway. So, marami din kaming ginagawang plano ngayon for the long term solution to the traffic in Cebu.

ASEC. GONZALES: And another question Sec. Mark and Sec. Martin. Because the rainy season is part of our climate, floods continue to be a problem in Cebu, therefore it should be foremost on the agenda of our local government units by working together with DPWH.

At the same time, there is a need to undertake the massive dredging of our waterways, the water must be given tributaries to flow out. Most importantly there is a need to establish the flood control policy strategy, target design for flood magnitude control and main works for the rivers and creeks which contribute to flooding.

Identify alternative flood mitigation measures and formulate flood control project implementation plan and prioritize project based on technical, economic, social, environmental feasibility.

Hence, the DPWH has begun implementing the Cebu Drainage Master Plan. The question is: Can Cebu accelerate funding for the Cebu Drainage Master Plan?

SEC. VILLAR: Yes, we will continue to accelerate the funding for the Metro Cebu Drainage Master Plan, kasama iyan sa mga priorities natin at usually mayroon talaga kaming nakalaan para sa flood control programs lalo na po sa Cebu at kailangan na kailangan na magkaroon ng solution para sa ating flooding. So, asahan naman po ninyo na tuluy-tuloy ang pagpondo namin. In fact, we will accelerate it even further.

At the same time, nag-invest din kami sa mga additional dredging equipment and by administration we will continue to dredge the rivers and of course, we also hope that the LGU also supports us, because there is also a need to clear our rivers of informal settlers sana malipat sa ibang lugar para rin sa safety nila.

So we will continue to prioritize this and we will continue to push for the continuous funding and release of funding for this flood control projects.

ASEC. GONZALES: Ito naman Sec. Martin and Sec. Mark. In his speech during his visit to Cebu for Sinulog, President Rodrigo Duterte said that Cebu cannot expand anymore because it’s an old city.

The only way to address traffic here is to have a train or an elevated structure. That is how I see it.

On his part, Secretary Michael Lloyd Dino of the Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas advocated to build a mono rail with a capacity of a light trail transit. In turn, the President agreed and encouraged the creation of the Integrated Intermodal Transport System in Metro Cebu.

The question: Does DPWH have plans to construct a Skyway over Metro Cebu like in Metro Manila connecting NLEX and SLEX?

SEC. VILLAR: At this point, the priority is to create a mass transportation, like iyong binanggit po ninyo kanina, iyong train. Sa ngayon ang mga plano namin ay more on sa bypass roads.

So as of now, that is what we are pushing these bypass roads in Metro Cebu but we will continue to be open to any ideas. At this point within the metropolis, I think it would be best, because the highest capacity can be gained through mass transportation. So at this point, in terms of elevated structures, the priority of the government is more on the mass transit; but on our part, we will continue to construct and push for more bypass roads and when applicable we can also so some more road widening. So, we will continue to find solution to the Cebu traffic.

SEC. ANDANAR: Ngayon naman tumungo tayo sa Mindanao at pakinggan natin ang mga Gobernador ng Misamis Occidental at Lanao Del Norte, ang dalawang probinsiyang nasa magkabilang dulo ng Panguil Bay Bridge Project. Here is Misamis Occidental Governor Philip Tan.

MISAMIS GOV. TAN: Thank you po, good day po, Secretary Andanar and Secretary Mark Villar. I would like to thank both of you for giving me the opportunity to be a part of your program.

Alam po ninyo, kami po sa Misamis Occidental, particularly Lanao Del Norte, Misamis Occidental and the whole Region X are so excited of this long, long dreams of ours, siguro 40, 50 years na ito na dream na matapos na talaga na talaga itong Panguil Bay Bridge. I know you are also doing your best para masimulan ito.

Right now, Secretary, ang makita lang namin dito ay iyong mga road approaches na ginagawa nila and so that—kasi ang daming tanong ng mga tao, kailan ba talaga iyan magsimula. So, maybe it’s best if you can really tell the people kung kailan baga talaga mag-start iyong construction ng main bridge at saka kailan ba talaga ito matapos. Kasi excited na kami na itong bridge na ito matapos, dahil it will give economic stimulus to our province and the whole of Region X. It will create new businesses, it would keep us moving 24 hours a day and more opportunities and business will even sprout even at the start of the construction kasi it will provide labor and work to our people especially the skilled workers.

So iyon lang po Mr. Secretary; and we hope na Secretary Mark ito ay tuluy-tuloy matapos talaga in the near future. Maraming salamat po!

SEC. VILLAR: Maraming salamat po. At kami naman sa national government natutuwa naman kami ay very soon ay magsisimula na po iyong full construction ng main bridge, nakita na po ninyo iyong mga approaches, ginagawa ngayon. At ngayon po, dahil una, na-award na po iyong contract and as early as now nagmu-mobilize na po ang contractor and we can expect by March full construction na po sa main bridge. So, iyong matagal na nating pangarap at matutupad na, malapit na po. In the next few months nagmu-mobilize kami and we will be ready for the construction in the first quarter. So malapit na po iyong full construction ng Panguil Bay Bridge.

SEC. ANDANAR: At ngayon naman ito si Lanao Del Norte Governor Imelda “Angging” Quibranza-Dimaporo.

LANAO DEL NORTE GOV. DIMAPORO: Good evening, Secretary Mart and thank you for the opportunity of including me in this Cabinet meeting. So, I can also—since you have your guest Secretary Mark Villar of DPWH para naman po maipaabot namin iyong aming concern regarding the Panguil Bay Bridge.

But first I would like to thank the President for giving us the opportunity or the promise that it’s been promised to us for almost 3 decades to make the bridge realized. Dahil alam naman po ninyo na it was the Province of Lanao Del Norte who spent for the feasibility study and lobbied this sa NEDA para malagyan po ng pondo ng DPWH.

May concern lang po ako Secretary Mark, about the contractor and their supplier. Dahil about two weeks ago, mayroon po kasing nag-deliver dito na nakasakay sa isang barge na… are more rocks that will be used for the bridge. And nagtataka lang kami dahil—I asked the PPA also that there was no information or advise from the LGU na may magda-dock na barge for this aggregates and PPA allows them without even iyong protocols that we are requiring here because of this pandemic. So I have to stop it and another thing, sa gabi po sila nag-a-unload at sobrang napakaingay, dahil itong rocks na ito are kasing laki ng refrigerator.

Anyway to make that story short, they were able to comply naman the documents na kailangan namin, the medical pass and others, so natuloy pa rin.

But I asked the contractor, dahil ang sa amin lang naman na why get it from other provinces, why not from here sa Lanao Del Norte. Mayroon naman siguro papasa na mag-supply nitong armour rocks na ito dahil mayroon naman tayong ma-quarry. Na sana naman itong may mga permit to quarry can supply, dahil para makapaghanapbuhay naman itong mga may ari ng mga quarry dito ‘no. And the sad thing pa, iyong pavement, the access road to the bridge binagsak ng supplier mismo sa concrete road na access road to the bridge, that damaged our road. And ito pong kalsada na ito, itong access road na ito, this is an allocation of Congressman Khalid in the Municipality Baloi.

But since the province don’t have that funds to concrete the access road, ni-realign po ni Congressman Khalid iyong kaniyang allocation in Balo-i that is, I think it’s about 30 million for the concreting of the access road and the rotonda. Eh ngayon basag na iyong aming access road because of the dumping of the armour rocks in the pavement. And worst of all, when I inquire from the contractor (Namkwang), they denied that there is no agreement with this supplier (Wing-Anne) from Molave ‘no, they’re from Molave.

So para ba kaming naka-hanging na nagtutulakan sila kung sino ba ang aming i-charge for this because the road is not turnover yet to DPWH. It’s still under the contractor and it really damaged the access road to the Panguil Bay Bridge. Ito, pera din ito ng gobyerno na sinimento papunta doon sa ating Panguil Bridge. Naguguluhan lang po kami Secretary Mark, ang hirap po kasi kausapin ng mga contractors ‘no. Like we offered an area na libre, as in, we don’t charge them for any rental except for the water and electricity for their batching plant, the mechanical batching plant.

Pero ayaw nila, ayaw nila nang libre. Gusto nila magbayad pa sila dito sa isang may-ari ng lupa na isang pribado kumpara sa ipapagamit namin sa probinsiya na libre, so hindi lang namin maintindihan. Kami, we are trying to help the government na hindi malaki ang magagastos sana, because as I mentioned earlier, this is a dream come true na bridge. As I said, it’s been more than 3 decades na pinapanaginipan [pinapangarap] namin itong tulay na ito na sana, the contractor and with DPWH, because even DPWH denies of this Wing-Ann supplier that damaged our access road to that bridge.

DPWH SEC. VILLAR: Thank you for your concern at buti na lang at nakarating po sa akin. At siyempre po lahat po ng inyong mga concerns idi-discuss ko, aalamin ko po kung anong nangyari dito sa na-damage na structure. At the same time, I will make sure that constant iyong communication namin para kung may mga ganitong concerns, puwede na namin asikasuhin kaagad.

Right now nakikita ninyo naman po na nagmu-mobilize na ang ating contractor, na-award na iyong contract and with regards to the armour rock, titingnan ko rin ho. Siyempre kami naman open naman kami, kung mayroon namang mga local suppliers, bakit hindi. Titingnan na lang namin, siguro may mga standards lang na kailangan i-meet. Pero kung mayroon namang supply at makakatipid din ang contractor, siyempre tutulungan din namin na maka-save din ang contractor at siyempre maka-generate ng jobs sa probinsiya.

So asahan ninyo naman po na kami po ay makikipag-coordinate at ako po ay nakikinig po sa lahat po ng inyong mga concerns and I will take it up immediately and address these concerns as they come. Siyempre naintindihan ko naman po kapag malaking project, marami talagang mga problema at may mga issues na mag-a-arise but definitely I think we can all agree, we can work together so that this dream of this project will become a reality very soon.

SEC. ANDANAR: Any parting message to our kababayan, Secretary Mark Villar?

DPWH SEC. VILLAR: Asahan ninyo naman po na marami po tayong project sa lahat po ng probinsiya. Masigla po ang Build, Build, Build sa lahat ng ating mga regions and kami naman po sa DPWH at sa buong government ay magtatrabaho 24/7 para matapos sa lalong madaling panahon ang ating mga flagship projects – at lahat po ng projects kahit hindi flagship. Kaya makikita ninyo talaga na mabilis ang magiging implementation at iyong promise ni President Duterte that ‘we will all live more comfortable lives’ is something that we will work had for up to the last day of the term of the President. Maraming salamat po.

SEC. ANDANAR: Thank you, Sec. Mark. When we return, we will talk about the coming COVID vaccines particularly how it will get from where it lands in the Philippines after it arrives from abroad to where you are across the archipelago. Keep it here on the Cabinet Report.

[AD]

SEC. ANDANAR: Pilipinas, ‘eto na sa wakas magsisimula nang dumating ang mga matagal na nating inaabangang mga bakuna. Isang aspeto ng pagbabakuna ang ‘di pa masyadong napag-uusapan: Papaano ba ang mga ito ihahatid sa atin sa iba’t ibang lungsod sa buong kapuluan. Mahalagang tanong ito dahil nga sa pagkaselan ng mga requirements sa transport nito. Pakinggan po natin ang report na ito mula sa Radyo Pilipinas:

SEC. DIZON: Noong nagsimula tayo dito sa napakabigat nating laban sa COVID-19, talagang nagsabi ang ating mahal na Pangulo na kailangan sama-sama tayo, tulung-tulong tayo dito dahil hindi kaya ng gobyerno lang ang napakabigat na hamon ng COVID-19. Kaya noong umpisa pa lang sabi ng Pangulo, whole of nation approach ang kailangan natin dito. Kailangan natin ang pribadong sektor kagaya noong sinabi mo kanina at kailangang-kailangan din natin ang ating mga local government units, ang ating mga mayor sa ating mga iba’t ibang munisipyo at mga siyudad sa buong Pilipinas.

Iyon ang ginawa natin at dahil diyan kitang-kita naman natin nitong nakaraang sampung buwan kahit papaano, hindi katulad ng mga ibang bansa sa Amerika, sa Europa na talagang tuluy-tuloy ang pagtaas ng kaso. Nakita natin kahit papaano nakontrol natin ang pagdami ng kaso sa Pilipinas pero hindi natin magagawa iyan kung hindi tayo nagtulung-tulong at nagsama-sama. Kaya napakaimportante ng role ng private sector lalung-lalo na dito sa next and most important phase ng ating laban sa COVID-19 which is iyong ating vaccination program. Sinabi mo nga, ito ang pinakamabigat na paghahamon na siguro haharapin ng kahit anong gobyerno in the last 100 years ‘no, itong napakabigat na paghamon na pamamahagi at pagdi-distribute nang napakaraming bakuna in a very, very limited span of time.

Ang objective natin is mabakunahan 50% of the population ngayong 2021. So, roughly mga 50 plus million Filipinos or 50 to 70 million, iyon iyong range na target natin for this year. At kailangan… ang salitang ginamit ni Secretary Galvez ‘decentralized approach’ ‘no. Kailangan talaga decentralized tayo, kailangan gagamitin natin ang mga private sector facilities at hihingi tayo at aasa ng tulong sa ating mga LGUs.

So, iyon ang ating policy direction at ngayon tulung-tulong na ang private sector, ang ating LGUs para sigurado na talagang maayos ang ating rollout at ngayon, mula ngayon hanggang end of February, bago dumating ang mga bakuna eh, talagang nagpa-practice na tayo ika na.

Napakaimportante diyan iyong coordination natin sa LGUs, kasi sila ang nasa baba, sila ang nandiyan sa ating mga barangay, kahit sa mga far-flung barangays, nasa control iyan ng ating mga LGUs. Kaya dapat talaga mag-work together ang national government at LGUs para masigurado na manggagaling sa airport or seaport diretso sa storage facility, diretso sa transport papunta sa cities and municipalities and from the cities and municipalities diretso sa ating mga barangays kahit na iyong ating mga far-flung barangays.

SEC. ANDANAR: Ang biyahe ng bakuna mula sa pagdating dito sa Pilipinas papunta sa saan mang lugar sa buong kapuluan na tayong Pilipino ay babakunahan ang ating tinutukan sa Cabinet Report na ito, ang ating kinausap ay ang logistics at airline industries. Tinanong natin sila kaya ba ng industriya niya na maghatid ng bakuna across the archipelago.

PRES/CEO FAST LOGISTIC GROUP WILIAM CHIONGBIAN: Nandito na iyan sa Pilipinas eh, matagal na, so let’s go straight to vaccines. There basically two types of vaccine cold chain that we need to consider – the super cold and the very cold, which is basically Pfizer at -70 centigrade and Moderna at -20 centigrade. That’s one group.

The good news is all the other vaccines are transported in a model that has been used for quite sometimes. For example, we helped with a sister company and we have been doing vaccines for the last five years. And these vaccines has been distributed not just in Luzon but across the Visayas and Mindanao.

So the only difference when you need to consider vaccines like Pfizer and Moderna is their main storage has to be very, very cold. But the solutions are available in the Philippines. Definitely they are readily available in NCR today and based on our calculations, if they really have to distribute to let say – for the super cold anyway – to Visayas and Mindanao, you really have a number of jump off airport points. So, as long as its consumed within the regulated period of by the vaccine companies and they are reasonable. It’s like 3 to 5 days for certain vaccines. I think that was Pfizer. It’s really doable, as I have said, if we can get ice creams bars to our far-flung islands, not just cities, but far-flung tertiary, fourth level towns we can get vaccines to these places as well. It’s a cold chain, its starts with typically, you see the big massive warehouses in capital cities. And then you figure it out that you are able really to truck these vaccines to more remote locations.

So, it is—I have to say that in our experience, it is absolutely doable, this is not a mystery to us despite the fact that the archipelago can be challenging. But I need to tell you the presumption is that when you move from one major island to the next, you need fly in volume ideally.

Actually din, if need be, you could literally put you know a box. Imagine mo na lang, na let’s say, because you are in a faraway place, a proper new Styrofoam container and what you do is you basically have your vaccines inside them with either dry ice or regular ice and you have this temperature strip which takes the historical, literally puwede mo naman iyang i-mount sa isang motor, so kaya kung sa kaya talaga.

We distribute for example in East Visayas. So, that’s in the Samar, Leyte area. Typically, we will reach the towns fronting the Pacific Ocean. We pretty much will get anywhere within 200 kilometers of let’s say Tacloban. So that will take you already quite faraway sa Leyte. And those are very remote places same with Samar na once you are on the Pacific side, you are going to have a few of the cities there that are already remote. So, we can deliver really to BHERTs there, although not to many, kasi most of the time, our experience is people also flock to where the national hospitals are, especially if it this is part of the DOH program. Very seldom will you see programs that are done out in the most remote areas, because they have to send doctors and nurses.

SEC. ANDANAR: Sige Willy, using your example in the Visayas. Ano ang magiging halimbawa ng biyahe ng bakuna tungo sa brasong tinuturukan sa probinsya?

PRES/CEO FAST LOGISTIC GROUP WILIAM CHIONGBIAN: We have a vaccine warehouse in Sucat. And an order is placed—this isn’t purely for the island. That will be a consolidated order for the Leyte, Samar Region. So based on our experience, the best place to transport that to in terms of hub, you start from our warehouse, you already have a—you will put them now in delivery boxes depending on the volume. Typically they will be cold boxes, and you are already talking to the airlines, because they are vaccines and they will be given the red carpet treatment, they will spend very little time in an airport holding facility and they will put on the… typically there’s like 5:00 A.M. flight that will move from NAIA to the Tacloban Airport. Why do I say Tacloban, even if I need to get to Samar? Because Tacloban is a major airport hub and literally it can get from Tacloban City to Catbalogan – let’s say walang traffic – may calculation is like about 2 to 3 hours. And that is not driving like a mad man.

So what the vaccine do, para siyang ano, sumakay siya ng—galing siya sa freezer, sumakay siya ng truck na nakabalot na siya in cold box, iyong cold box ang sasama sa airplane, may susundo naman na truck sa Tacloban Airport, depende sa need and in this case let say iyong paturok ka sa Catbalogan City didiretso siya sa—Okay, sorry let’s make it a little more complicated, eh iyong Catbalogan is the next day pa. Let’s say Sunday morning umalis, Monday pa iyong paturok, so as soon as dumarating iyan sa Tacloban mayroon tayong secondary cold storage na magki-keep between 2 and 8. Then early in the next morning, para maka-timing siya na makakarating siya sa paturok sa Catbalogan, aalis siya siguro ng 6:00 A.M., dadating siya ng mga 9:00 A.M. doon sa Barangay Health Center at doon itsi-check naman ng receiving.

So, truck from Tacloban, pupunta ng Barangay Health Center sa Catbalogan. They will cross the San Juanico Bridge and then from there – let’s presume that the Barangay Health clinic had already invited their citizens, nandiyan na iyan maghihintay and sometimes, they will even stay the night before. Or in the case of someone’s whose coming from them mountain’s baka scheduled siya, last na mga alas-dose or may even in the afternoon. But meanwhile, pagdating sa Barangay Health Center, nandiyan iyong box, itsi-check naman iyan kung talagang hindi siya dumaan ng init lahat-lahat pagbukas siya. So that’s really how it should be done. Now depending on the volumes, you do not need large trucks, these are six wheelers and literally you could use a car if you needed.

I don’t recommend taking. If you really needed to take a motorcycle that you know, medyo malayo-layo rin iyon, so hindi maganda iyong safety, plus open siya. So the chances of the elements affecting are still there. Mas robust siya talaga kung nasa loob siya ng truck kasi it keeps you away from the sun, wind and rain. But it’s really that straightforward, iyon siya, iyon ‘yung journey ng bakuna and then dadating na siya sa, parang galing health center, sa Catbalogan.

Q: Maraming turok at paturok iyan. Marami bang service providers na kayang gawin ito?

GROUP PRES. & CEO, FAST LOGISTICS GROUP CHIONGBIAN II: There are quite a few groups that can do all of that and even more in terms of what each one is their specialty. Pero as I had mentioned to you earlier, the good news is vaccines are very small in nature. The news is that they like to stay cold and they are in glass vials or something that needs a little bit of tender loving care in the servicing. But then I guarantee you in the Philippines, there are more than enough players to be able to move these volumes.

These are not massive and everyone I’ve spoken to in the industry, kasi the picture I’m showing you, we back checked that with our partners in our competition. Everyone in the industry realizes that the sooner we help in our way as long as we are already guided by the government, because we’re in the commercial game, the sooner the economy will get back on its feet. We do not think there is a shortage of supply chain and logistics providers even in Visayas and Mindanao marami pa rin, not just in the NCR and nababato din iyon to far north and far south ng Luzon. Nandiyan lahat, it’s actually very, very competitive which then means if it’s to really help the government, I do not think it will be an issue.

Q: The Philippines is an archipelago. Ang vaccines, maselan ang handling, time and temperature sensitive. Kaya ba ito ng mga airlines natin? Yes, sabi ni Gilbert Santa Maria, President and COO ng Philippine Airlines.

PAL PRESIDENT & COO SANTA MARIA: We are the only airline that can take the vaccine from the continental sources in Europe or the United States. And take them in large enough quantities that still satisfy the maximum requirements or maximum safety limits for carriage of the dry ice or CO2, we can carry it from those continental locations, land them in whichever airport in the Philippines is most suitable. For example, we can fly from Spain to Cebu to bring Moderna vaccines direct to Visayas. We can fly from Spain direct to Davao to bring the Moderna vaccine there, right? If it’s AstraZeneca and sourced out in Belgium, then we can do the same, right? That’s our capability because we are the only carrier in the Philippines with the ultra-long haul, large/wide body aircraft.

And then, we can then take whatever is shipped directly to Manila by the vaccine manufacturers, it will be broken down in great bulk from the shippers, put in cold storage and then send around the country in a time-sensitive manner. So we have multiple options for aircraft, we can take the medium-wide bodies, the 330s and we can take our narrow bodies, the 320s/321s. And then as Boni described, we can take turboprops which we’re the only company in the Philippines that have the Dash 8 De Havilland turboprops.

Why does that matters? Because they fly as fast as jet. Everything else that flies there carrying passengers, mabagal. Iyong turboprops ni Boni, mabilis and then we can basically take the cargo from Manila to a secondary airport that is currently not served like Tandag in Surigao or we can take it to island destinations that happened to have airports right; or one of the other things that we can do, we have the capability to organize and do, is fly into an airport like Ormoc, right? And then from Ormoc, we will stage using smaller aircraft or rotary wing helicopters right. They are not officially part of PAL’s fleet but they belong to the same owner and so we have access to those so that from Ormoc Airport, you can load critical vaccines into a helicopter and fly it to a destination that is impossible to reach otherwise.

That way, if you pre-deploy the people distributing the vaccine then we can get the vaccine. We are faster than anybody else can. We have greater coordination than anybody else can. Handa na po kaming gawin iyan, pinagpaplanuhan na po namin iyan. Saan man galing iyong vaccine hanggang ituturok siya, basta’t kaya naming abutin nang lumilipad na bagay, gagawin namin. The PAL team have been part of the cold chain logistics, you know, team that organized by Secretary Galvez around the distribution of vaccines.

Q: Kahit ba airport na hindi ninyo nililiparan commercially kaya rin bang puntahan?

PAL EXPRESS PRES. BONI SAM: We have the equipment, we have the resources and we have the people that are highly trained. Yeah Baguio, we have La Union, hindi naman ginagamit iyan but there is an airport in La Union. We have airport also in Tuguegarao pero I know Cebu Pacific flies there but you know, we used to fly there also, Tuguegarao. And then down south marami iyang airports diyan, may Naga, may Legazpi; although Legazpi ginagamit na natin iyan. Mayroon din sa Tacloban, doon sa Leyte, nandiyan iyong Maasin, Leyte mayroon iyan, may mga airports iyan na puwede nating puntahan with the approval of CAAP ‘no.

PAL PRESIDENT & COO SANTA MARIA: Yeah. Cabancalan Airport, Central Negros ‘di ba, that’s another one; Siquijor Airport which is being rebuilt now; Surigao Airport which is rebuilt in Mindanao; so Tandag Airport is there, luma na iyan; Bislig also has an airport, luma na rin iyan pero if they are prepared in some basic preparation, we can get aircraft there. So in some cases, basta may coordination puwede naming sabayan ang Air Force with their rotary fleet ‘no kasi may helicopter sila. We have access to helicopters as well. So if the logistics planning requires that puwede naming suportahan din iyong Air Force. And the PAL has always been, as a flag carrier, matagal nang sumusuporta ang PAL sa gobyerno ng Pilipinas and we’re used to teamwork with different government agencies including DND.

PAL VP FOR CARGO BUSINESS JASON SIY: We started yesterday our training, IATA training for handling of temperature cold cargo operations. We started with our line operations yesterday and today and then we will roll it out to different parts of the Philippines, so sa mga ground handler namin. Kasi aside sa preparation ng mga airports, we need the people to handle it properly as well.

Q: Ang Cebu Pacific at CebGo ready to serve din at sanay sila sa pag-deliver ng bakuna at medisina. Sabi ni Alex Reyes, President and COO ng CebGo.

PRESIDENT & CEO CEBGO ALEX REYES: Yes, Cebu Pacific has been carrying vaccines for some time now and whether it’s for polio, for flu. So, we’re carrying quite a lot of medicines and primarily vaccines throughout our network. Air transport is the one that gets it there quickly and on time. The requirement kasi for the medicines is they have to be temperature controlled. So that’s a very, very important requirement and we have to ensure that throughout their journey, when the medicines and the vaccines are actually in our hands, we have to make sure that it doesn’t ever go beyond the certain temperature that the cold properties are actually maintained all throughout the journey.

Q: Ang Air Asia din naghihintay na lang ng permit, handa na rin kahit special flights and routes pa, iyan ang sabi ni Ricky Isla, President and CEO.

AIR ASIA PRESIDENT & CEO RICARDO ISLA: Vaccines are considered DG or dangerous goods. At present, Air Asia is currently applying to CAAP, Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines that permit so that’s the most important. The moment we are able to get our official permit as a carrier, an air carrier to do transport of dangerous goods, we are very interested and we would like to have the country transport via air travel our vaccines, not only Metro Manila but Metro Manila going to the provinces of course, where we really fly. And that to us is very important and we would like to take an active part.

We can go, at the farthest will be Mindanao of course like GenSan, Zamboanga and Davao. But we’re practically in all the key cities of the Philippines and this includes of course Cebu, Central Visayas; that also includes Dumaguete moving to the Negros; Panay Islands namely Bacolod, Iloilo, Kalibo; we can go also towards Palawan, okay.

And at the same time do you know that there are some airports that actually allow wide body aircrafts like A320, like Air Asia aircrafts, that our big airports that we can also transport based on what we call chartered flights. So these are for example Ozamiz and Ormoc provinces. Now in short, we’re not only going to fly or support the government in terms of carrying these vaccines to where we are appointed but we can also setup chartered flights for special cities so that the wider coverage that Air Asia can actually take care of.

Q: Pilipinas sa pagdating ng bakuna, rest assured na makakarating ito kahit na malayo ka sa mga malalaking lungsod. Para sa Cabinet Report, nag-uulat, Radyo Pilipinas.

SEC. ANDANAR: Maraming salamat sa inyong report, Radyo Pilipinas. Bilang pangwakas, alam po natin ang ilan po sa atin ay may agam-agam tungkol sa pagbabakuna. Makakaasa po kayo na ang inyong pamahalaan ay sisiguraduhing dadaan sa masusing pagsusuri ang mga bakunang gagamitin natin.

Nagpapasalamat din tayo na ang ilang sektor ng lipunan ay nagsalita na rin upang magbigay suporta sa pagbabakuna. Ito po si Archbishop Romulo Valles, ang Pangulo ng Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines o CBCP. Archbishop Valles…

ARCHBISHOP VALLES: I’m willing to be vaccinated? Yes! Yes, if that helps allay the fears of our people because I think from the news, may mga survey, people are hesitant. But being convinced that it is really a big help against this misery that we are suffering during pandemic and going back to the example of the Pope, I think he made a remark that it is ethical, parang demand that we have our being vaccinated helps in the control and that end of this pandemic.

SEC. ANDANAR: Maraming salamat po, Archbishop Romulo Valles, President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines.

At dito nagwawakas ang ating palatuntunan ngayong gabi. Mapa-imprastraktura man o bakuna, makakaasa kayo na sa buong kapuluan walang iwanan.

Ito po si Communications Secretary Martin Andanar. Magkita-kita po tayo sa susunod na Biyernes para sa isa na namang Cabinet Report. Mabuhay ang Pilipinas. Mabuhay ang Pilipino.

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Source: PCOO-NIB (News and Information Bureau-Data Processing Center)