The Department of Transportation (DOTr) is pinning its hope on how quick the national government would be able to resolve the perennial issue on right-of-way to expedite the construction of mega transport projects.
DOTr Secretary Jaime J. Bautista has expressed confidence that it will finally be ironed out after President Marcos committed to right-of-way issues to pave the way to infrastructure development.
“We will make sure that the right-of-way issues are resolved in the most equitable, efficient, and expeditious manner, so that these will not get in the way of our infrastructure development,” Marcos said in a speech during his third State of the Nation Address (SONA).
Bautista was fully aware of how right-of-way issues have been hampering the construction of road projects across the country, a challenge that the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is also experiencing over the years.
During the Build Better More Infrastructure Forum at the New Clark City in Tarlac, DPWH Undersecretary Maria Catalaina E. Cabral admitted that the right-of-way issues has been causing delays in the completion of road projects.
For instance, the right-of-way issue is one of the major reasons why the expressway that would connect the Bicol region to the end of the South Luzon Expressway is taking too long to complete.
Cabral said the problem was experienced during the initial phase of the construction of the SLEX to Lucena extension, and remains a problem for the road project that would further connect the project down to Sorsogon.
The AO
In April this year, Marcos signed Administrative Order (AO) 19 that created a ROW Committee tasked to study and devise an efficient and collaborative mechanism to streamline the process of land acquisition necessary for the implementation of all railway projects.
The AO also directs the committee to coordinate the implementation of railway policies and projects, as well as craft and approve project-specific policies and programs.
The committee must also identify appropriate services or programs concerning land acquisition and other ROW activities, such as livelihood, income restoration, and resettlement.
The benefits
Several big-ticket projects are either under construction or on the drawing board—including more expressways that would connect Central Luzon to more areas in the northern part of Luzon.
Other projects include more access roads to and from Metro Manila.
The mega-projects include railway projects in Luzon—the North-South Commuter Railway—and Mindanao through the Mindanao Railway project.