By Leslie D. Venzon
MANILA, July 3 (PNA) — Malacanang is reviewing the appeal of conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) to reconsider its bid for the P35.4-billion Cavite-Laguna Expressway (CALAX) project.
“In accordance with Administrative Order No. 22, the Office of the President (OP), through the Office of the Deputy Executive Secretary for Legal Affairs, is now conducting a review of the appeal made with respect to this particular project,” said Presidential Communication Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Herminio Coloma in a press briefing.
SMC’s Optimal Infrastructure Development Inc. has filed a motion before the OP to reconsider its bid for the CALAX project.
The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Center rejected an earlier appeal from Optimal, insisting that the conglomerate did not follow the rules for the bidding.
Despite this, Coloma said the government reconsidered such appeal because of the prevailing AO No. 22 that prescribed rules and regulations governing appeals to the OP.
“Isinasagawa pa po ‘yung pag-aaral. Hintayin na lang po natin ang rekomendasyon at aksyon hinggil dito,” he said.
The CALAX involves the financing, design and construction, operation and maintenance of the entire four-lane, 47-kilometer closed-system tolled expressway connecting Cavite Expressway and South Luzon Expressway. (PNA)