SUNDAY NOTES: In the Vatican this week, Benedict XVI appointed:

* Bishop Sergio Lasam Utleg of Laoag as archbishop of Tuguegarao (area 9,000; population 1,709,000; Catholics 1,356,000; priests 82; religious 122). He succeeds Archbishop Diosdado A. Talamayan, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese the Holy Father accepted upon having reached the age limit.

* Msgr. Jose B. Bantolo of the clergy of the diocese of San Jose de Antique, vicar general, as bishop of Masbate (area 7,000; population 776,000; Catholics 704,000; priests 56; religious 18). The bishop-elect was born in Guisijan in 1960 and ordained a priest in 1986.

* Msgr. David William Valencia Antonio of the clergy of the archdiocese of Nueva Segovia, vicar general, as auxiliary of the same archdiocese (area 2,570; population 691,000; Catholics 582,000; priests 77, religious 118). The bishop-elect was born in Nagtupacan in 1963 and ordained a priest in 1988.

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OVERPRICED?: Why spend P400 million for rehabilitating Macabalan Port in Cagayan de Oro when a French contractor of modular ro-ro (roll on, roll off) ports has a standing offer to build a new wharf and passenger terminal for only P143 million?

The question is being asked by Palace watchers and former Sen. Nene Pimentel, who described the P400-million rehabilitation plan as overpriced and “patently disadvantageous to the government,” a red flag for graft in the premises.

The plan marked by unusual arithmetic is reportedly being pushed by the Philippine Ports Authority and the Department of Transportation and Communication, with the tacit approval of Malacañang.

“The PPA port project would be plain and simple highway robbery if implemented,” Pimentel said.

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300% COSTLIER: The ro-ro program linking ports and using ferries between islands was pursued by the previous Arroyo administration. It made possible the more efficient movement to Manila of goods and people from Mindanao and the Visayas.

The PPA claimed it can build the ports for only P40-50 million each. So the DoTC and the PPA turned down as too stiff the offer of French construction firm Eiffel Matiere to build modular ro-ro ports nationwide.

“The PPA wants to cancel the ro-ro contract with the French as overpriced,” Pimentel noted. “Yet here they are proposing to rehabilitate the Cagayan de Oro port for an astronomical sum, something like three times the price quoted by the French.”

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DATA IGNORED: Under the PPA plan, a new passenger terminal will be built for P250 million. There will be additional costs for the paving of a 2.1-hectare backup area (P71.27 million) and the construction of three additional ro-ro berthing facilities and dolphins (P50 million).

The P50 million is only for a three-unit ro-ro berthing facility to be connected to existing berths and port facilities. It is not for an entire, stand-alone complex as proposed by the French consortium.

Despite the revealing comparison, the PPA has decided to build a new one for P250 million.

Pimentel questioned priorities of the DoTC since it has decided to upgrade port facilities even when the number of sea-going passengers has not increased substantially.

Citing data from the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines and the PPA, the National Economic and Development Authority has reported that while air passengers increased by 19 percent from 2009 to 2010, sea-going travelers increased only by 4.03 percent in two years.

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DILATORY TACTIC: Is President Noynoy Aquino deliberately delaying signing into law the bill postponing the August election in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao so those opposing the plan cannot go to the Supreme Court early enough to question it?

Election lawyer Romy Macalintal noted that until the bill is signed into law, oppositors may not be able to go to the SC for lack of a cause of action.

When the President signs it at the last minute, there might not be enough time for a successful constitutional challenge before the SC. Unsure of the fate of the bill, the Commission on Elections may also have its hand tied in preparing for the ARMM polls in August.

But Macalintal said lawyers would be smart enough to find a valid reason for going to court even before the bill is signed into law.

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GARCI RECALLED: Another problem is that Comelec chairman Sixto Brillantes, who should lead the preparations for the ARMM polls, has been bypassed by the Commission on Appointments.

The gallery noticed that in preventing Brillantes’ confirmation, Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano harassed the Comelec chief with questions about retaining personnel linked former Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano, who had been accused of rigging the 2004 elections.

Assuming the suspects are still around, can newcomer chairman Brillantes be blamed entirely for a complex problem that he just inherited?

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FAMILY ISSUES: Cayetano’s “Hello Garci” antics were not surprising since that same scandal helped catapult him to the Senate.

What may be surprising was the senator’s appearing unperturbed by the fact that his wife, Taguig Mayor Laarni Cayetano, is facing an electoral protest before the poll body headed by Brillantes.

This reminds us of congressmen harassing then Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez with impeachment charges while they or some members of their families were facing charges before her office.

Alan as congressman is also remembered for opposing Taguig’s cityhood and joining his father, deceased former senator Rene “Companero” Cayetano, in dealing with the CA.

After the Comelec rebuffed their attempt to block the proclamation of winning mayoral candidate Freddie Tinga in 2001, the appointment of then Comelec Chairman Alfredo Benipayo was repeatedly bypassed, prompting him to give up the fight.