DoTr to focus on railway dev’t in 2020

By Denise A. Valdez
Reporter

RAILWAY PROJECTS are taking center stage next year as the sector will account for bulk of the Department of Transportation’s (DoTr) proposed budget for 2020.

The department presented to the Senate on Thursday its P147-billion proposed spending plan for next year, where P108 billion will be spent on projects, of which 99% will be spent on railways.

The Senate Committee on Finance approved the budget, which will now be taken up at the plenary.

Approximately P106.7 billion of DoTr’s approved budget for projects will go to railways, followed by P507.5 million for the maritime sector, P346.5 million for the aviation sector and P101 million for roads. About P360.6 million of the budget will go to other projects.

“The reason for this budget is because we are aggressively expanding the railway network,” Transportation Undersecretary for Railways Timothy John R. Batan said at the hearing.

Railway projects to be undertaken next year include the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR), Metro Manila Subway Project, Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) Rehabilitation, Mindanao Railway Project, Philippine National Railway (PNR) South Long Haul, Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT-1) Cavite Extension and Subic-Clark Railway. Mr. Batan said construction of each of the projects is part of a plan to expand the country’s railway system, which will have a total length of 1,144 kilometers in 2022 from 77 km in 2016, consisting especially of LRT-1, LRT-2, MRT-3, PNR At-Grade, MRT-7, Metro Manila Subway, Subic-Clark Railway, NSCR, PNR Bicol and Mindanao Railway.

Within the same six-year period, the number of stations across all railway systems is targeted to increase to 169 from 59, the number of trains to 1,425 from 221, and daily ridership to 3.26 million from 1.02 million.

“Itong 2016, 2017 and 2018, iginugol natin sa project approvals, procurement at pag-arrange ng mga loans [We spent 2016, 2017 and 2018 for project approvals, procurement and arranging loans]. ’Yung construction natin are mostly starting in 2019, 2020, continuing to 2021,” he said.

Senators also asked the DoTr on the MRT-3 rehabilitation and how soon commuters may expect ease in riding experience. Mr. Batan said repairs are scheduled for completion by July 2021, but at least nine of the 48 new trains from China will be gradually rolled out for regular operations starting the second half of 2020.

Meanwhile, Transportation OIC Undersecretary for Road Transport and Infrastructure Mark Richmund M. de Leon said the Public Utility Vehicle (PUV) Modernization Program may extend its deadline for jeepney phaseout beyond July 2020.

“’Yung target kasi, ’yun ’yung [That target was] when we started this modernization program last 2017… But having said that, meron tayong mga [we’re encountering] challenges on financing, on the cost of the units, we will evaluate again based on these challenges,” he said at the hearing.

The government initially required jeepney drivers and operators to change their fleet of 15-year-old jeepneys into “environment friendly” units by 2020.

Mr. de Leon said there are 170,000 old jeepney units across the country today, and the goal is to have about 85,000 modern units to replace them by next year.

However, there are only 2,595 modern jeepneys operational today — more than two years since the launch of the PUV Modernization program.

“We support in general this modernization program. But I am not very encouraged by the answers that I hear today… In a week’s time, submit to us a revised target… what are your targets for the phaseout, and up to the end of this administration,” Senator Franklin M. Drilon told the DoTr.

https://www.bworldonline.com/dotr-to-focus-on-railway-devt-in-2020/

Skyway operator to speed up preliminary work on extension

TRAFFIC at South Luzon Expressway (SLEx) is expected to ease up by November, as Skyway Operations and Maintenance Corp. (SOMCO) said it will speed up the completion of the heavy preliminary works on its extension project.

In a statement yesterday, the unit of conglomerate San Miguel Corp. said one of the Skyway lanes that has been temporarily closed since last week will be reopened by end-November. The lane was closed as preliminary work on the Skyway extension project began.

“SOMCO assured motorists that they will get a reprieve from traffic in the south by November when heavy preliminary works are targeted for completion, just before much of the Christmas rush,” it said.

SOMCO is currently undertaking a P10-billion extension on both directions of the Skyway from the toll plaza of the main line linking to Susana Heights. Construction of the four-kilometer elevated viaduct started in June and is scheduled for completion by December 2020.

Since last week, motorists have complained about the heavy traffic that spilled over to SLEx brought by the lane closure at Skyway, affecting vehicles coming from Laguna up to Alabang.

“We understand your frustration but given that the holiday season is fast approaching, we have to be aggressive with the schedule as it is our best ‘window’ to complete preliminary road works before peak traffic season,” SOMCO President Manuel M. Bonoan said in the statement.

“We ask for understanding and patience from our motorists for this temporary inconvenience.”

Aside from the already closed lane last week, SOMCO also notified motorists of a one-way traffic scheme to be implemented starting Oct. 8 at 10 p.m. for the northbound lanes from Alabang to Sucat Interchange. The scheme will run until end of November.

The current works at Skyway cover Phase 1 of SOMCO’s extension master plan for the toll road, which seeks to extend the northbound and southbound lanes of Skyway from Muntinlupa to Susana Heights. Once completed, it will link the toll road to the Muntinlupa-Cavite Expressway.

SOMCO said the next phases of the extension project will include works to decongest traffic at Bicutan, Sucat and Alabang-Zapote Road access points.

“[O]ur aggressive target to complete Phase 1 is by December next year. There are possible causes of delay: right-of-way issues, moving of pipelines, power lines, and the like. However, with the leadership and full support of government, we’re confident we can still fast-track and complete it in a relatively shorter period of time,” Mr. Bonoan said. — Denise A. Valdez

https://www.bworldonline.com/skyway-operator-to-speed-up-preliminary-work-on-extension/

Panukala para pagandahin ang NAIA at ibang paliparan, aprubado na ng NEDA

NEDA OKs NAIA rehab proposal

The Investment Coordination Committee-Cabinet Committee (ICC-Cabcom) of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) has approved the unsolicited proposal for the rehabilitation and operation of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

This was confirmed by Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia last Friday.

A NEDA source said the ICC-CabCom approved the finalization of the draft concession agreement for the project by the Department of Transportation (DoTr) with the consortium based on the parameters cleared during the meeting.

This includes the shortening of the original proposal to rehabilitate, operate and maintain the aging NAIA from 35 years to only 15 years.

The source said the project would “basically be an optimization of the existing airport” in which the proponent “will introduce new technologies not yet used in NAIA” to accommodate the increase in passengers.

Pernia said that after this, the project would be referred to the NEDA Board, which is chaired by President Duterte, before it can proceed to the Swiss challenge process.

Officials said this is a project that the government wants to be done “as early as possible.”

The P102-billion proposal was put forward by a super consortium composed of Aboitiz InfraCapital, AC Infrastructure Holdings Corp., Alliance Global Group Inc., Asia’s Emerging Dragon Corp., Filinvest Development Corp., JG Summit Holdings Inc. and Metro Pacific Investments Corp.

Meanwhile, the approval for the proposal of Aboitiz InfraCapital to upgrade, operate and maintain the New Panglao Bohol International Airport was deferred because the government is now considering to take on the addition of capacity and just letting the private sector take over its operations and maintenance (O&M).

The NEDA source said the firm has another proposal for the O&M component alone that may also be reviewed by the ICC-CabCom.

The source said DOTr is now exploring means of funding the addition of capacity either through loans or government funds.

This, however, is considered a priority project that needs to be carried out as early as next year because the Bohol airport is already suffering from capacity constraints.

https://www.philstar.com/business/2019/09/30/1955981/neda-oks-naia-rehab-proposal

Telcos ready for 8-digit landline numbers

The country’s two biggest telecommunications operators are all set to make the shift to the eight-digit landline number format starting Oct. 6.

The Ayala-led telco said all telephone numbers of Globe and Bayan customers in Greater Metro Manila with the 02 area code will move to an eight-digit format by the said date next month in compliance with the directive of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC).

“We are ready to migrate all customers with landline in Greater Metro Manila to eight-digit telephone numbers. Our teams are continuously working closely with the NTC and other telcos to assist affected customers before, during and after the migration,” Globe general counsel Froilan Castelo said.

PLDT last July also announced its readiness for the migration from the existing seven-digit format to eight digits.

The NTC issued Memorandum Order 10-10-2017 in October last year directing all telecommunications companies in the country to migrate all customers within the area code 02 to eight-digit telephone numbers to ensure that there will be sufficient resource pool to cater to the rapid growth of landline customers in major cities.

The NTC assigned each telecom operator with a public telecommunications entity identifier (PTE) as an additional prefix to its phone number.

The assigned PTE identifier for Globe and its subsidiary Innove is 7, while Bayan Telecommunications has 3 as its PTE identifier.

For PLDT, the assigned PTE identifier is 8.

The respective PTEs of each telcos will just have to be added at the start of the existing landline numbers.

The NTC and local telcos scheduled the migration on Oct. 6 from 12 a.m. to 5 a.m.

Globe said during the period, affected customers may experience service interruption as telcos update their system to the new format.

The original migration date set by NTC was on March 18, 2019 but it was moved to a later schedule in response to petitions filed by the Bankers Association of the Philippines and Credit Card Association of the Philippines to give banks and credit card companies enough time to make the necessary adjustments.

https://www.philstar.com/business/2019/09/29/1955728/telcos-ready-8-digit-landline-numbers

Commentary: Finding solutions for Philippines' traffic crisis

Media and public relations practitioners refer to the life of a news story as a news cycle. Over the years, the so-called news cycle has been changing—of course, depending on the topic—with the presence of social media. Typically, a news story would last for about 24 hours.

There are two topics that I can think of with very strong staying power in the media—the Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) and the discussions on public transportation coupled with the EDSA traffic.

Around mid-August of this year, the GCTA issue surfaced over the possibility of former Calauan Mayor Antonio Sanchez—who was convicted in 1995 of seven terms of reclusion perpetua—of being released under Republic Act No. 10592, the law allowing convicts an early release based on good conduct time allowance.

Because of the public outrage over the Sanchez case and subsequently other high-profile cases, including the allegations of corruption in what has become known as the “GCTA for sale” scheme, the story has lingered in the news, perhaps, partly sustained by the Senate investigation.

Another story that has stayed in the news is the traffic mess, particularly in EDSA and in the entire Metro Manila, in general. The traffic situation is tightly related to the various issues of public transportation.

While there is also a Senate hearing that touches on these—in relation to the emergency powers that the president has been asking for the last three years—that keeps these issues landing on precious media spaces, the many proposals to end the Metro Manila traffic make the subject at the forefront of national and metro news.

But I suspect that one of the reasons these topics have mass appeal is the fact that these are matters that people of Metro Manila face every day. This problem is real—too real for many.

Everybody who travels to someplace for school, work, and other activities are affected, whether you drive, take public transportation, or even walk. Those who drive curse what has become a permanent sight of traffic, all pointing to other drivers for their lack of discipline on the road.

The blame mostly falls on drivers of public utility vehicles and motorcycles. In the end, it has become a finger-pointing game between public and private transportation drivers.

So-called experts have been racking their brains trying to come up with out-of-the-box proposals. Some of these recommendations are dismissed outright for being impracticable and downright lunatic.

There are also run-of-the-mill proposals that do not indicate deep thought. Recently, there was a proposal to make the entire EDSA go in one direction. This was shot down as something that will make traffic in the metropolis even worse.

There are also proposals that, in my mind, are common-sensical. As such, to even suggest something that is already in the pipeline of solutions may just be adding noise to the already deafening discourse on the issue, such as strictly implementing discipline among drivers, commuters, and pedestrians.

Too many vehicles and limited road spaces are observations that, while acknowledged as true and important, pose numerous obstacles in counteracting. Suggestions to limit the acquisition of vehicles by raising taxes may lead to pro-rich policies.

Even proposals to widen the coverage of the existing unified vehicular volume reduction program—such as allowing the use of a vehicle to only once a week—may lead to the purchase of more vehicles by those who can afford to.

On the other side of the equation, proposals to build more infrastructure, such as roads and rail transport systems, can only be considered good from the standpoint of solving the congestion in Metro Manila.

Former Senator JV Ejercito’s suggestions to relieve Metro Manila’s traffic are well taken. These include doing fast-track work on the NLEX-SLEX connector, MRT-3 rehabilitation, MRT-7, MRT-2 extension to Rizal, the Clark-Los Banos commuter train line, and the development of the Clark International Airport new terminal building. He also mentioned about prioritizing LRT-1 extension to Cavite, Philippine National Railways (PNR) North and South and the Manila Subway, and making use of the present PNR tracks with new train sets.

At the policy level, he suggests car-pooling during rush hour, continuing with the jeepney modernization, re-rationalizing franchises of all public utility vehicles, and even the relocation of government agencies to Clark.

But there are other things to consider, such as the financing of these infrastructures. While it is relatively easier to borrow money, we also need to worry about repaying those loans. Certainly, we do not want the economy saddled with debt servicing in the future.

Still, there are proposals that, theoretically, make a lot of sense, but are difficult to implement in one go. A clear example of this is to decongest Metro Manila by developing the countryside. This model is ubiquitous in the development economics literature but takes a strong political will to be implemented, and more than anything else, time, for the benefits to become apparent.

One proposal that is gaining traction (no pun intended) because of the benefits it promises is the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). This system is being used in some 136 cities in about 39 countries, including the US, UK, Canada, China, Indonesia, among others.

What makes the BRT system attractive as a solution to our transportation and traffic woes is that it can be implemented in a shorter period and is relatively less expensive compared to a railway system, but with the potential of maintaining its benefits in terms of passenger capacity, scheduled trips, etc. It works by having dedicated lanes for the busways that are aligned to the center of the road and other features similar to a metro system.

In the final analysis, what should be obvious to all is that transportation and traffic problems are not going to be solved overnight, figuratively speaking. But, at the literal level, perhaps, it would take at least one year for us to feel any improvements that is if we keep on working on the solutions that are already on the way.

It is not just about too many vehicles on the road either. What should also be clear to all is that there is no one solution that will miraculously address the problems that have taken years to build up. If only we paid attention to these things a lot earlier, then, maybe, these problems would have been more manageable.

And while we are at it, maybe it is not only the discipline of the drivers that needs attention. Perhaps, there is a serious problem with knowledge of the rules. You cannot follow a rule that you do not know.

In our system, even those who got their driver’s license through fraudulent means are perpetually qualified to renew their license. How about re-testing every renewal or something like that?

Edwin Santiago is a fellow and member of the editorial board of think tank Stratbase ADR Institute.

https://www.philstar.com/other-sections/news-feature/2019/09/28/1955704/commentary-finding-solutions-philippines-traffic-crisis

DENR stops 944-hectare reclamation project in Bacoor

By Vanne Elaine Terrazola

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) will not anymore permit the 944-hectare reclamation project in Bacoor, Cavite following the opposition by Senator Cynthia Villar.

During the deliberation of the Senate finance subcommittee B on the DENR’s P25.5-billion proposed 2020 budget, Villar questioned environment officials for supposedly entertaining plans to reclaim the 944-hectare area in Bacoor, which, she lamented, was close to the protected Las Piñas-Parañaque Wetland Park.

The project, she said, could endanger the wetland.

The senator, who also chairs the Senate environment and natural resources committee, worked for the declaration of the Las Piñas-Parañaque Wetland Park as a protected area under the Republic Act 11038 which expanded the National Integrated Protected Areas System. It was signed into law June last year.

At the hearing, she also recalled filing petitions before the Supreme Court to stop reclamation projects that could affect the park.

“You want me to go file a petition for Writ of Kalikasan, and you want me to do this again, after spending almost 10 years to stop reclamation, now you are going to do another reclamation in front of us?”

Villar said she was convinced by former Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson to prevent the said Bacoor reclamation plan.

Singson, she said, warned that the project will cause flooding in her bailiwick Las Piñas City.

“Sabi niya sa akin ‘Huwag mong ipare–reclaim ‘yan kasi babaha kayo ng eight meters sa Las Piñas…Alam mo ba ‘yong eight meters? That’s [equal to a] three-storey [building]. Walang bahay sa Las Piñas na three-storey, eh di lahat kami, pati ako, ang bahay ko one-storey, ilulubog mo ako (No house in Las Piñas City exceeds three-story, now you will submerge us, including me, in floods)?”

Villar noted how reclamation projects caused the spike in land values, citing for instance the high property prices within the reclaimed Manila Bay area.

“Ibig sabihin ‘yong mga mayayaman, payayamanin mo at ilulubog mo kaming lahat na mahihirap? Hindi naman yata tama ‘yon (You mean you will make the rich richer and you will drown the poor in floods? That is not right),” said the richest member of the Senate.

“The rich people should take care of the poor people. It’s not the poor people suffering to make people rich. Tigilan niyo ‘yon (Stop that project)…Kawawa naman ‘yong mga kababayan namin (Our people in Las Piñas would affected),” she told the DENR officials.

Metodio Turbella, director of the DENR’s Environmental Management Bureau, said the agency will “immediately” cancel the reclamation project.

“We’ll take note of that. In fact, I talked to the Undersecretary [Jonas] Leones, including the good [DENR] secretary here, to immediatly cancel that schedule for that purpose,” Turbella said.

DENR Secretary Roy Cimatu was present in the Senate committee hearing.

The local government of Bacoor has partnered with Frabelle Fishing Corp. and Aboitiz for the 944-hectare reclamation project. The plan was among the 22 Manila Bay reclamation projects being processed by the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA).

Urban poor and fishermen’s groups have also opposed the project.

The DENR said developers should secure area and environmental clearances before reclamation projects are approved by the PRA.

Villar, as finance subcommittee B chair, was tasked to defend the DENR’s proposed budget for next year.

https://news.mb.com.ph/2019/09/27/denr-stops-944-hectare-reclamation-project-in-bacoor/

SM Prime gets reclamation project greenlight

SM Prime is coming up with a P100 billion reclamation project spanning Paranaque and Pasay cities and dubbed the Future City.

The Pasay city government has secured a notice to proceed (NTP) with the 360-hectare Manila bay reclamation project in joint venture with SM Prime Holdings Inc. (SMPH), the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA) confirmed.

According to a PRA official, the confirmation letter was sent to the Pasay city government and addressed to Pasay City Mayor Emi Calixto-Rubiano and dated 28 August. Further, the PRA official said the NTP contained conditions pertaining to the submission of a “revised design,” among others.

No copy of the letter is available as of press time. Officials of the Pasay city government contacted on the subject were also unreachable.

Prior to this, a person with knowledge of the events told the Daily Tribune that SMPH patiently waits for the Pasay local government unit cue to start the five-year reclamation project as the NTP was already in the LGU office.

SM Prime is coming up with a P100 billion reclamation project spanning Parañaque and Pasay cities and dubbed the Future City.

In November last year, the Pasay LGU signed a memorandum of agreement with SM Prime for a 300-hectare and a separate 60-hectare project in Manila bay, otherwise known as the “SM Project.” The agreement was signed between SM Prime and then-Pasay mayor Antonino Calixto.

Aside from the SM project, other agreements signed were with the Manila Goldcoast Development Corp. and the Manila local government through then-mayor Joseph Estrada for a 148-hectare Solar City project; and the Pasay City consortium and the Pasay LGU for a 265-hectare project dubbed “Pasay City Harbor project.”

https://tribune.net.ph/index.php/2019/09/27/sm-prime-gets-reclamation-project-greenlight/

Improvements in train performance to be felt by end of Duterte term

The riding public will get to try and experience new major train projects as well as improvements on existing ones before the term of President Duterte ends, Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said.

Tugade, in an interview with CNN’s “The Source” yesterday, assured that various railway projects seen to ease Metro Manila’s traffic congestion would be partially operable before end-2022.

Among these projects is the P357-billion Metro Manila subway, which will be the Philippines’ first underground railway.

Tugade said partial operability of the subway, which will consist of its first three underground stations, is targeted to be completed by the first quarter of 2022.

Aside from the subway, the transport chief said other major railway projects which would be partially operable before end-2022 are the LRT-1 extension to Cavite, LRT-2 extension, PNR Clark Phase 1, and the MRT-7.

“Also, those who fall in line and are on the roads will get to ride a better MRT-3. You will get to try that,” Tugade said.

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) has vowed to fix and restore the MRT-3 to its original and high-grade design state by the third quarter of 2021 once ongoing rehabilitation works of Japan’s Sumitomo-Mitsubishi Heavy Industries are completed.

With the help of the railway projects, the DOTr expects road traffic to be decongested.

The agency, under the Build Build Build program, has embarked on a campaign to build new railways and rehabilitate existing ones with the goal of expanding railway infrastructure throughout the country to 1,900 kilometers by 2022 from the current 77 kilometers in operation.

The government also plans to bolster the country’s fleet of operational train cars by more than five times by the end of the Duterte administration to boost connectivity and enable better and faster services across all rail networks nationwide.

The target is to grow the country’s rolling stock fleet to more than 1,200 by 2022 from 221 operational train cars, also known as light rail vehicles or coaches, in 2016.

https://www.philstar.com/business/2019/09/26/1954934/improvements-train-performance-be-felt-end-duterte-term

DOTr chief assures PNR Clark Phase 1 completed by 2020

CLARK FREEPORT -- Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade assured that the PNR Clark Phase 1 and other railway projects will be completed by 2022.

Tugade said the riding public will get to experience new major train projects, as well as improvements on existing ones before the term of President Rodrigo Duterte ends.

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) chief said various railway projects seen to ease Metro Manila's traffic congestion would be partially operable before end of 2022.

The train systems include the Metro Manila Subway, LRT-1 Cavite Extension, PNR Clark Phase 1, and MRT-7.

The DOTr aims to expand railway infrastructure throughout the country to 1,900 kilometers from the current 77 kilometers in operation under the "Build, Build, Build" program.

The agency plans to bolster the country's fleet of operational train cars by more than five times by the end of the Duterte administration.

The projects are expected to boost connectivity and enable better and faster services across all rail networks nationwide.

The Clark railway, once completed, will connect New Clark City in Capas, Tarlac and Clark International Airport to Metro Manila.

Businessman Rene Romero, president of the Pampanga Chamber of Commerce and Industry PamCham, earlier lauded Tugade for implementing various infrastructure programs including the Clark airport and the Malolos Clark railway system.

https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/1824925/Pampanga/Local-News/DOTr-Secretary-Arthur-Tugade-assures-PNR-Clark-Phase-1-completed-by-2020