Biz Buzz: Speed limit

Motorists hoping for a higher speed limit on the newly opened Skyway stage 3 elevated tollway of San Miguel Corp. might be in for a disappointment. But they will also be in for a safer drive.

According to the head honcho of the country’s largest conglomerate, the current speed limit of 60 kilometers per hour (kph)—which is not bad, but can be a tad slow for some motorists—will stay even after construction work is fully completed in a couple of months.

This might come as a disappointment for some users of the seven-lane elevated highway, but San Miguel president Ramon Ang assured them that it was meant for everyone’s own good.

Speaking to some journalists in an online video těte-atěte recently, Ang explained that the traffic scheme being envisioned for Skyway 3 was that of variable direction lanes that could be adjusted at different times of the day to accommodate higher volume of vehicular traffic that might be heading south during the morning, and the reverse in the late afternoon to early evening.

“So eventually, when things normalize, you will see five lanes heading south and two heading north in the morning,” he said. “In the afternoon, it will be the reverse: two lanes heading south and five lanes going north.”

So what does this have to do with the 60 kph speed limit?

Ang explained that this variable direction lane scheme meant San Miguel would not be able to install concrete dividers along the center island as was customary in high speed tollways in the country. In fact, there will be no center island. Instead, there will be movable traffic lane dividers to facilitate the lane direction adjustments at different times of day (except for a few sharp turns where concrete dividers have already been installed).

Because of this, speed will have to be kept at 60 kph as a safety precaution, just in case an errant car crosses over into the oncoming lane, knock on wood.

“There’s nothing wrong with 60 kph. You will still get to your destination a lot faster,” he said.

“What will you do with higher speeds? Race? If you want to race, take it to the track in Clark,” Ang said. “A lot of people who like to race on roads here, pure yabang lang (it’s all bluster). When they get to the race track, they have nothing to show for it.”

Good point. And good safety advice. —DAXIM L. LUCAS

Speaking of which . . . Ang caused quite a stir last week when he made a “fearless forecast” that boxer-turned-senator Manny Pacquiao would end up as the country’s president in next year’s polls.

Needless to say, many supporters of the current dispensation were not too happy about it, and made their sentiments known online.

Well, Ang clarified that he was not endorsing Pacquiao and that the issue might have been taken out of context as part of a broader discussion about the upcoming elections.

“A follow-up question was made about who I think would win, if elections were held today. While I said I did not want to make any statements or forecasts about politics, the topic of ‘fearless forecasts’ in hypothetical scenarios, persisted,” he said.

“One of the journalists present mentioned Sen. Pacquiao’s name, to which I said I agreed the senator would have a good chance—the same way other strong contenders with their own following and track record, would also have a good chance,” he said.

“The entire conversation was based on hypotheticals and specific situations that were no longer included in the articles being circulated,” Ang explained.

“In all my public life, I have neither been involved with nor publicly endorsed any political candidate, even those I consider personal friends,” he added. “We will always be supportive of the government and will continue to do our part in helping our nation rebound from this crisis and build a better world for the Filipino people.” —DAXIM L. LUCAS

Attacks on Dito

It’s too early to say if Dito Telecommunity is a major threat to telco incumbents PLDT Inc. and Globe Telecom but that hasn’t stopped a recent public relations attack on the company.

That’s all par for the course in any industry with competing interests.

But in this case, the shadowy PR operator decided that the best approach was to misrepresent comments made by Democracy.Net.Ph co-founder Pierre Galla during a Senate hearing on March 10.

Stories seeded and carried by several news outlets just last week appeared to suggest that Galla said Dito’s network disenfranchised a large slice of the Filipino population given limitations of its network.

Those limitations pertain to Dito’s assigned frequencies, which ultimately dictate the devices that can access the network.

It’s true that Dito has 3G, 4G and 5G frequencies and none of the “workhorse” 2G frequencies that’s used by less sophisticated feature phones. In fact, Dito said its launch network would cover the 4G and 5G market or the more recent smartphone models.

This isn’t Dito’s choice since its frequency assignment was all the government could provide when the so-called third telco slot was auctioned off in 2018.

In fact, the point Galla was making was not so much about Dito’s limitations but the state of frequency allocations.

He pointed out that there was no 2G spectrum for Dito because this was held by PLDT and Globe.

He also reminded lawmakers that they had the power to balance the equation in terms of spectrum management reform—part of a long and ageing wishlist for advocates.

Dito is a young company and as such, it has opportunities and challenges. Moreover, it’s a China Telecom-backed enterprise during a tense geopolitical climate. It thus faces multiple valid issues that makes one wonder why misrepresenting and pitching what is essentially fake news is even necessary.