BIZ BUZZ: ‘Airportserye’: Behind closed doors

The highly anticipated conclusion of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) rehabilitation project bidding process—which ran for about six months—came on Friday when the Department of Transportation announced the consortium led by San Miguel Corp. (SMC) as the winner.

While it was a clear win for SMC SAP & Co. Consortium who submitted the highest bid, there were rumors about other challengers attempting to disqualify the eventual winner. Obviously, they did not triumph.

But as it turned out, SMC’s bid was not the only one that faced scrutiny from competitors.

Transport Undersecretary Timothy John Batan told reporters that “three out of the four bidders filed or submitted challenges to the qualifications of the other bidders.”

“One of them challenged three. The other challenged two. The other challenged one,” he added.

Batan, however, did not disclose who challenged whom.

Batan, however, assured the public that all disputes were resolved and these did not affect the result of the bidding.

Asked to disclose the details of the disputes, Batan said they were not allowed to do so yet due to confidentiality issues.

“Rest assured that we are actually already preparing our disclosure package for when we can already disclose,” he said. —Tyrone Jasper C. Piad

Apl.de.ap strikes sustainability chord with ADB

Allan Pineda a.k.a. Apl.de.ap sparked a post-Valentine frenzy last Thursday as the Filipino-American singer from multiple Grammy-award winning pop group Black Eyed Peas visited the Asian Development Bank (ADB) head office in Ortigas.

He wasn’t primarily there at the bank to entertain—although he did delight the ADB community by rendering a few songs—but to explore sustainability initiatives.

The Manila-based multilateral lender announced on Facebook that Apl had held meetings with Chantale Wong, US executive director and US Ambassador to ADB, and a team led by ADB Philippines country director Pavit Ramachandran “for possible collaborations” with Apl.de.Ap Foundation International (APLFI).

Biz Buzz asked Dan Vo, Apl.de.ap’s spokesperson, about the potential areas of common interest.

“APLFI is planning to partner with ADB on sustainability topics that directly impact climate change. It is the foundation’s mission to create economic progress through vocational education that have a positive impact on the environment,” he said.

Born poor and clinically blind, Apl grew up as a farmboy in a remote barangay in Pampanga. Through APLFI, he gives back to the Philippines — whether it’s promoting tourism, raising funds for children, building classrooms, training new talent or boosting the creative industry.

Other sources said that Apl had also discussed his idea to transform Filipino jeepneys into EVs.

Last November, APLFI unveiled in the U.S. its Electric Mechanic Scholarship, providing financial aid to bridge the skills gap in the EV landscape. Vo said the collaboration is indeed part of this initiative. “We are looking to extend EV education to help prepare the next generation of mechanics and enthusiasts for the EV marketplace,” he said.

Apl believes that EVs would drastically change the job market and that communities must be at the forefront of such transformation.

Suffice to say, this first meeting won’t be the last. – Doris Dumlao-Abadilla