The Department of Transportation (DOTr) is "open to other sources of funding" although Transport Secretary Jaime J. Bautista has recently agreed to re-negotiate Chinese financing for major transport projects.
"We are not limiting our options to China. We want to have different options. We are also continuing discussions with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)," he told reporters over the weekend.
Although he continues discussions with JICA, Secretary Bautista also agreed to revive discussions for China-funded railway projects during his recent first official meeting with Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian.
The Chinese government did not act on the Duterte administration’s request for loan financing for 3 major rail projects - the Philippine National Railways' (PNR) South Long Haul project, the Subic-Clark Railway and the Mindanao Railway (Tagum-Davao-Digos line).
Because of the inaction, the projects were considered "withdrawn" and need to be renegotiated under the Marcos administration.
A joint venture of China Railway Group Ltd., China Railway No. 3 Engineering Group Co. Ltd., and China Railway Engineering Consulting Group Co. Ltd. (CREC JV) won the construction contract for PNR's P142-billion South Long Haul project connecting Calamba, Laguna to Daraga, Albay.
The Chinese government was supposed to fund the bulk, or 85 percent of the project but this did not materialize.
In 2020, China Harbour Engineering Co. won the contract for building the P51-billion Subic-Clark Railway Project.
China Eximbank was supposed to fund the project but no action was taken on the finance department's loan applications.
Finally, China failed to submit a shortlist of contractors for the design-and-build contract of the P83-billion Tagum-Davao-Digos segment of the Mindanao Railway and the project was stalled.