The Department of Public Works and Highways (DWPH) is asking the Office of the Court Administrator (OCA) to expedite the expropriation of land in the right-of-way (ROW) of the Silang (Aguinaldo) Interchange of the P35.7 billion Cavite Laguna Expressway (CALAX).

Already, the case has been filed before the Tagaytay, Cavite Regional Trial Court (RTC) .

DPWH Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Service Director Alex G. Bote recently presented the ROW status of the 44.5-kilometer (km) tollway to Silang , Cavite Mayor Kevin Anarna.

To date, Bote bared that this segment of the CALAX that spans at 3.9 kilometers (km), is 64.8 percent complete.

A critical portion of the interchange is an undelivered ROW consisting of 450 meters of land, owned by a private corporation.

The ROW issues prevent the progress of continuous works, including construction of drainage and bridge, excavation and roadway earthworks and installation of fence and coco net.

“We only have two remaining properties for acquisition, but that’s already in court for some time," Bote noted.

The pending legal issues set back the target opening date of the tollway segment several times.

“By now, we can’t make it by December. But we’re still hoping that we can complete it," he pointed out.

"If we can settle the issue within the month, the Aguinaldo will definitely be operational, February or March, 2023, ” according to Bote.

DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan is requesting the OCA to speed up the expropriation proceedings filed before the Cavite local court, he confirmed.

“We’re also preparing a letter to the Office of Court Administration to fast-track the acquisition process,” Bote added.

The director of the PPP service of DPWH, likewise, asked the local government unit of Silang, led by Mayor Kevin Anarna, to help settle the ROW deadlock.

“It will be a big help if the court will accept our deposit and issue a writ of possession," Bote maintained, referring to their P5 million initial payment based on the rough estimate the agency’s engineers, as stipulated in Republic Act No. 10752 or the Road Right of Way Act.

Under the OCA Circular No. 113-2019, the RTC should immediately issue a writ of possession within seven working days upon the deposit to the court of the amount equivalent to the sum of 100 percent of the value of the land.

The value is based on the current relevant zonal valuation of the Bureau of Internal Revenue issued not more than three years prior to the filing of the expropriation complaint.

“What we are asking is that we are given the chance to deposit the cheque that we hold and issue and reinstate the power of writ of possession," Bote underscored.

For his part, Anarna assured the DPWH and MPCALA Holdings Inc. that he will help in resolving the ROW issues of the CALAX Silang (Aguinaldo) Interchange.

"We are awaiting for these issues to be settled 100 percent," the mayor underscored. "Our economy will further grow once Calax Silang is opened."

Already, property values in the area have appreciated with the upcoming operation of the CALAX project. “When it’s announced that it will open in December, land value immediately appreciated.”

Upon completion, the interchange will serve more motorists, including the 298,000 Silang residents, given the reduced traffic situation.

The average daily traffic is 33,000 from Mamplasan to Silang East interchange. This is expected to increase to 40,000 when the Silang (Aguinaldo) Interchange opens, easing the usual bottleneck along the 41-km Aguinaldo Highway—the busiest main thoroughfare in Cavite—as well as Governor’s Drive and Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay Road.

Currently, CALAX’s operational segment spans 14.24-kilometer with interchanges at Greenfield-Mamplasan, Laguna Technopark, Laguna Boulevard, Santa Rosa-Tagaytay, and Silang East. Other interchanges, namely, Open Canal, Governor’s Drive, and Kawit, are targeted to be completed next year.

Once completed, the entire PPP project of the DPWH and MHI, will connect to the Manila-Cavite Expressway (CAVITEX) in Kawit, Cavite.