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==[[Marinduque News]]==
==[[Marinduque News]]==
'''DOTC sets bid for P500-M airport equipment in May'''
'''Marinduque’s masquerade of faith'''
*Source: http://businessmirror.com.ph/home/economy/26366-dotc-sets-bid-for-p500-m-airport-equipment-in-may
*Source: http://umatuna.org/marinduques-masquerade-of-faith
*Thursday, April 26, 2012
*Sunday, April 29, 2012
:by  LENIE LECTURA / REPORTER
:by  umatuna.org






The transportation department on Thursday announced it will put up for bidding next month the P500-million airport x-ray screening and security equipment contract.


This, said Transportation Secretary Manuel Roxas, aims to improve security in different airports in the country with commercial flights by installing, upgrading and layering of security screening of passengers.
Roman pageant is act of faith for participants


At present, there are 45 airports with scheduled commercial flights.  Of these airports only 21 have adequate airport screening.  To standardize the security screening in all of these 45 airports, the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) is considering the procurement of screening equipment that will be installed in 31 airports.
(UCA News) Every year, faith takes center stage in the province of Marinduque as people showcase art and culture in a week-long festival of masks and costumes dubbed “Moriones”.


“These x-rays will be installed in places where there are no screening or where even if there is equipment, but because of the volume of passengers, they need additional equipment,” Roxas said. “We will make them all have two layers of screening just like what we have in Naia [Ninoy Aquino International Airport].”
Life in the province is slow-paced and laid-back for most of the year, but during Holy Week the island comes alive with the sights and sounds of a Roman garrison town.


Items for procurement include 21 sets of initial security checkpoint (ISCP) screening equipment and 25 sets of final security checkpoint (FSCP) screening equipment.
Tourists from across the country, along with international visitors, flock to Marinduque to witness the transformation.


The airports to be installed with the 21 ISCPs are Puerto Princesa, Kalibo, Tagbilaran, Davao, Laoag, Iloilo, Tacloban, Cotabato, Dipolog, Cagayan de Oro, Marinduque, Busuanga, Masbate, Calbayog, Catarman, Jolo, Basco, Sanga-sanga, Siargao, Cauayan and Ozamis.
Local residents of all ages and walks of life participate in the telling of the story of Longinus, reputed to be the centurion who stabbed the crucified Jesus with a spear and was healed by Jesus’ blood.


The 25 FSCPs are Puerto Princesa, Kalibo, Tagbilaran, Davao, two in Laoag, General Santos, Zamboanga, San Jose, Roxas, Tacloban, Pagadian, Dipolog, Cagayan de Oro, Marinduque, Busuanga, Masbate, Calbayog, Catarman, Jolo, Basco, Sanga-sanga, Siargao, Cauayan  and Ozamiz.
For residents of Marinduque, the festival is more than a display of artistry in the rendering of beautiful and garish costumes; it constitutes a religious vow of sacrifice.


The DOTC will also procure nine units of x-ray inspection systems for cargo screening.
“This is a practice that has been handed to us for over two centuries now,” said Raymund Nepumuceno, head of the Legions of Marinduque, one of the three Morion groups in the province. “It is a lifetime commitment to God,” he said.


These cargo x-rays will be installed in Puerto Princesa, Kalibo, General Santos, Zamboanga, Iloilo, Roxas, Cotabato, Cagayan de Oro and Clark.
He said that wearing the Morion costume – a Roman centurion’s helmet, cape, breast plate, leggings and weapons – brings a sense of pride.


The DOTC will also buy 46 units of walk-through metal detectors, 92 units of hand-held metal detectors, 59 sets of CCTV (closed-circuit television) IP (Internet protocol) surveillance system, 55 units of UPS system, 55 sets of AVR system and 55 sets of ergonomic chair for the x-ray operator.
“Walking with those defines the meaning of a Morion’s sacrifice,” Nepumuceno said.


This project is set for completion by the end of the year.
Costumes can weigh up to 20 kg, so a Morion soldier must first learn to walk in the heavy “caligae” or military boots, where controlling one’s steps is crucial to remaining upright.


The agency also announced plans to construct and rehabilitate approximately 1,017 public toilets in its attached agencies, including airports, seaports  and train stations nationwide.
“It’s not as easy as it looks. People look at the glamour of our costume, but behind the mask is a struggle and a prayer that God gives us the grace to survive,” Nepomuceno said.


At present, agencies under the DOTC have a total of 1,224 public toilets. Under the DOTC program, 786 of these will be rehabilitated, while 231 new ones will be built.
For his part, 68-year-old Alfredo Maglakas, a Morion for more than four decades, one can have the best costume “but without faith it is nothing.”


Roxas also said to reduce the cost of building these toilets, the DOTC is resorting to bulk purchases. Instead of awarding the project to just one contractor, it will be bidded out into several lots, allowing more suppliers to participate in the procurement.
When asked how he endures the grueling life of a Morion, he says that life would be much harder without God..


For instance, the project will have a package for major fixture, where providers can bid to supply the urinals, water closets, lavatories and faucets needed for the toilets. This package alone enables the DOTC to reduce the cost from P66.6 million to P40.1 million.
“Moriones is a festival of faith.”


There will also be savings from the procurement of civil works. Before, the DOTC used to spend P396 million but the agency is looking at spending only P160.7 million.
The Moriones festival traces its roots to 1807, when Padre Dionisio Santiago, parish priest in Mogpog town, organized a group of players to re-enact the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.


“In the past, civil works for construction of toilets cost P35,000 per square meter. But because we are using bulk purchase for this project, civil works was reduced to about P18,000 per square meter,” Roxas said.
The staging of the play evolved around Roman centurion Longinus, who it is believed also served as officer of the guards outside Jesus’s tomb and witnessed the resurrection.


One hundred companies, he added, are interested to participate in the multibillion information-technology (IT) project of the Land Transportation Office (LTO).
Tradition holds that Longinus was the one who rushed into town to spread the news, which prompted the high priest and scribes to order his execution.
 
“We are happy that more than a hundred participants showed up, expressing very keen interest in this project,” Roxas said.
 
The bids and awards committee of the DOTC conducted on Wednesday a pre-bid conference for the LTO, IT project. Representatives of major IT firms here and abroad attended the conference, including those from IBM, SAP, HP, Oracle and Indra.
 
The LTO, IT project is a seven-year program with an approved budget of P8.2 billion.


==[[:Category:Marinduque, Philippines Photo Gallery|Marinduque, Philippines Photo Gallery]]==
==[[:Category:Marinduque, Philippines Photo Gallery|Marinduque, Philippines Photo Gallery]]==
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