Transport exec denies pushing for Ro-Ro project

Transportation Undersecretary Ruben Reinoso said yesterday that the recommendations by the department, which said the Ro-Ro project should either be scrapped or renegotiated at the very least, should speak for itself.

A copy of the Department of Transportation and Communications report was sent to the President last month. The review committee, which came out of the report, was chaired by Reinoso.

“The report I signed was endorsed by Secretary Jose de Jesus himself,” Reinoso said.

He denied the statement that he was pushing for the implementation of the controversial Ro-Ro project. However, he said whatever the President’s decision will be, it will have to be recognized that the government signed the P11.8-billion contract with the French contractor Eiffel Matiere.

“Honoring the contract is different from proceeding with the project,” he said.

“Renegotiating for better terms or scrapping the project entirely will have consequences. But these consequences will be a small price to pay to save the government from paying for expensive ports that the country has no use for,” Reinoso added.