00:00This is the story of a man who lost his life in a traffic accident.
00:12The public has long been afraid of heavy traffic.
00:16Passengers are also suffering from long queues, traffic jams, and a lack of public transport.
00:31In addition to buses and jeeps, the government's solution is train or railway projects to reduce traffic,
00:39to have effective and affordable public transportation.
00:46In 2018, Reporters Notebook discussed the government's ongoing railway projects.
00:58Almost six years have passed, what happened to the projects?
01:05Have commuters benefited from the projects?
01:16This is the story of a man who lost his life in a traffic accident.
01:30It is now 6.30pm.
01:34Passengers are rushing home.
01:38This is where we are now.
01:40These are the vehicles going to San Jose del Monte Bulacan.
01:45These are the vehicles going to Commonwealth Avenue.
01:48It is one of the widest streets in Metro Manila, but it is also one of the busiest streets.
02:00From Nia Road in Quezon City, we took a bus to San Jose del Monte Bulacan.
02:07Here, I was able to talk to some passengers.
02:11How long have you been doing this everyday commute?
02:16It's been a long time, almost 35 years.
02:20Has anything changed?
02:23Nothing, it's just getting harder.
02:26This area is now less crowded, right?
02:29Yes, it's less crowded.
02:32But later, can it still be full?
02:34Yes, it can still be full.
02:36It's crowded.
02:44Tandasora, we're almost there.
02:47Do we really need this?
02:50Think about it.
02:52Is there a way to ease this situation?
02:55There are two ways.
02:57Is it really full?
02:59Yes, it's full.
03:01The passengers can't get on the bus.
03:03V. Rose Monterola and her 10-month-old baby are on their way home from Cavite.
03:11How long have you been driving from Cavite?
03:14Five hours.
03:16When you get to Bagong Sinang, what time will it be?
03:20Around 7 or 8.
03:23It's hard to commute here.
03:26It's hard to get home.
03:32It's hard to get home.
03:46Calvary for Justin Andre Mayer is the daily traffic jam.
03:55It's 7 in the morning.
03:57Justin says goodbye to his wife and two children.
04:02From Bulacan, he will go to work in Pasay City.
04:07Justin works as a call center agent.
04:11My shift is at 10 a.m.
04:14I have to leave at 7 a.m. so I can get to work on time.
04:19I add a few more hours to compensate if there's a delay in my trip.
04:29This is my first trip.
04:30From our barangay to the highway.
04:35It's a tricycle.
04:46When he arrived at the highway, Justin took a bus to Quezon City.
04:52On a daily basis, he goes through the ongoing construction of the Metro Rail Transit Line 7 or MRT 7.
05:04It's a huge help for those who come from faraway places like Bulacan
05:11to be able to get to NCR or Manila.
05:16We can save on time and money.
05:20MRT 7 was built in 2016 by the Department of Transportation or DOTR.
05:26It's 24 kilometers long and will have 14 stations from Quezon City to San Jose del Monte, Bulacan.
05:37From his trip to Quezon City, he will go to the highway.
05:41From his trip to Quezon City, he will go to San Jose del Monte, Bulacan.
05:44From his 2 to 3-hour trip, MRT 7 will speed up the travel time from Quezon City to San Jose del Monte by 35 minutes.
05:56According to the document provided by DOTR in the Reporter's Notebook,
06:00the total cost of the project is more than 62 billion pesos.
06:05The fund came from the PPP or Public Private Partnership.
06:12In 2018, the Government's Railway Projects were first discussed by the Reporter's Notebook
06:19under the Build-Build-Build Program with MRT 7.
06:24At that time, 2019 was the completed completion date
06:29and in 2020, MRT 7 was targeted to be operational.
06:33Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the issue of the road right-of-way,
06:42the completion of MRT 7 was delayed.
06:45It is expected that there will be a lot of help to make the roads of the vehicles
06:50from Quezon City to San Jose del Monte, Bulacan more accessible.
06:53The road right-of-way is needed if the Government's project will pass through a private land.
07:04At first, a land in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan was planned by the Government
07:10to be used as a depot or road for the new MRT 7.
07:14But the two sides did not agree on the price,
07:17so other properties were needed for the depot.
07:20As of July 2024, the construction progress of MRT 7 is already at 71.67%.
07:28It is expected that 800,000 passengers will benefit from the project every day.
07:342025, it is targeted to be operational.
07:37Out of the 14, MRT 7 is hoping to operate 12 stations.
07:42MRT 7 is targeting partial operations by the end of next year.
07:50When he got off the bus, Justin moved to MRT 3 to reach Pasay.
08:20When it comes to the task, his vehicle is a jeep.
08:51It is past 10 in the morning when Justin arrived at his office.
09:04It is 8 in the evening, Justin will travel again to Bulacan.
09:10To be honest, I am not in a hurry, but since we are in a hurry to go home,
09:15since the trip will take a long time,
09:18here we are, we are waiting for the jeep to go to MRT Tas Avenue Station.
09:24He needs to ride a jeep again.
09:36And ride MRT 3 to EDSA to reach Quezon City.
09:46GMA Command, GMA Command.
09:49When he gets off the Amuling Station, he will transfer to a bus that will go to Del Monte.
10:06When he got closer to their location, Justin bought some food.
10:11Since I talked to my wife, she told me,
10:15while I was on the trip, she could not cook.
10:20So, we are a bit late since the trip was delayed.
10:25So, I just decided to buy some food in a corner.
10:31After 3 and a half hours of travel,
10:35Justin finally arrived at their house.
10:42He is lucky that he was able to wake up his wife.
10:52I am really nervous at that time.
10:55I just want to see my kids when I get home,
10:58which is not happening anymore since I am busy with the trip.
11:02When MRT 7 is opened, Justin will be one of the benefactors of the project.
11:07We will be able to save on massages and time.
11:10And it will have a big impact on our daily lives.
11:13For sure.
11:15Yesterday, Justin traveled for almost 7 hours.
11:22Under the guidance of the Japan International Cooperation Agency in 2014,
11:28the productivity loss of Metro Manila is estimated to reach 2.4 billion pesos every day.
11:34And if the traffic problem is not solved,
11:37it is estimated to reach 6 billion pesos every day by 2030.
11:44According to DOTR Undersecretary for Railways Jeremy Riquino,
11:49the agency is currently focusing on 13 railway projects.
11:54Aside from MRT 7,
11:56LRT Line 1 Cavite Extension is also included in the list.
12:00Its project cost is more than 77 billion pesos under the PPP or Public-Private Partnership,
12:09Official Development Assistance of the Japan International Cooperation Agency or JICA,
12:14and Government Fund.
12:16It is 11.7 kilometers long,
12:18running from Baclaran to Bacoor, Cavite.
12:22When we first visited it in 2018,
12:25the project is in the pre-construction phase
12:28and plans to start the partial operations in 2021.
12:32But due to the pandemic,
12:34there was also a delay in the project.
12:44I'm leaving home.
12:49One of the expected passengers of LRT Line 1 Cavite Extension
12:54is Justine May Papio, or JM.
12:59From their home in Bacoor, Cavite,
13:02she experiences daily chaos when commuting.
13:06JM works as an admin staff in a private company in Paranaque and Makati City.
13:13Instead of a one-hour trip,
13:16I woke up two hours earlier because it was too much hassle.
13:20Instead of going in fresh, I went in right away.
13:25I think that's enough.
13:28Every day, JM says,
13:30it's hard for her to deal with other passengers
13:34and the lack of public transportation.
13:36Coming from Cavite,
13:38the transportation to my workplace is very limited.
13:42I'm not sure if I'll be able to ride in those two hours.
13:46Sometimes, I'm really standing.
13:48You really have to squeeze when you're at the door of the bus
13:51so that you can get in on time.
13:54JM says,
13:56because of the chaos,
13:58she already experienced a lot.
14:00It's a great advantage.
14:02When the situation is bad, it's really hard.
14:05A one-hour trip
14:07usually means twice or three times the rush hour.
14:12If I'm in Makati,
14:14I guess I'll be there in three hours
14:16since there are three different buses.
14:18I'm going to the airport.
14:21This July 2024,
14:22the construction progress of the LRT Line 1 Cavite Extension
14:26is at 74% according to the DOTR.
14:29This is at Rojas Boulevard.
14:31You can see the train tracks here.
14:33It's almost ready.
14:35There are railings.
14:37By the end of this year,
14:39we will open five stations in Paranaque
14:41that will be operational.
14:43As part of the government's so-called railway renaissance,
14:47the rehabilitation and maintenance of MRT 3
14:50is already underway.
14:52This is the train that travels from Taas, Pasay
14:55to North Arino, Quezon City.
14:58In 1999,
15:00when MRT 3 became fully operational,
15:03we can already see the progress and development,
15:06the improvement of our train system in the MRT 3 line.
15:11There are less glitches.
15:14But what is considered
15:16one of the government's biggest railway projects
15:18is the Metro Manila Subway Project.
15:21This is the first subway or underground railway in the country
15:26that was also called the Project of the Century.
15:28The railway system is 33 kilometers long
15:31and will have 17 stations
15:34from Valenzuela City to Paranaque City.
15:37The funding for the project will start at Php 488 billion
15:43from the official development assistance of JICA.
15:47In our interview with DOTR in 2018,
15:51they said the target is to finish the three subway stations in 2022.
15:57The target for 2027 is to be operational.
16:03But due to the delay due to the pandemic,
16:06the target was changed to operational date and it was made in 2031.
16:10In the subway,
16:12we are also hoping to achieve partial operations
16:16by the end of 2028.
16:18That is from Valenzuela to Ortigas.
16:23At present,
16:25construction is ongoing in Valenzuela and Mindanao Avenues in Quezon City.
16:29The construction progress of the Metro Manila Subway
16:33is at 15.57% as of July 2024.
16:38To be connected to LRT 1, MRT 3, MRT 7 and the subway,
16:43the Grand Central Station or Unified Common Station will be built.
16:48It will be located in Quezon City, which was funded by Php 2.8 billion.
16:53In 2023, the first target was to finish the project,
16:57but there was also a delay due to the need to stop the construction due to the pandemic.
17:02At present, the construction progress of the Unified Common Station is at 81.49%.
17:08It's ongoing. It will be finished next year.
17:11Another DOTR project is the North-South Commuter Railway.
17:17It will travel from Clark, Pampanga to Palamba, Laguna.
17:22Its total project cost is Php 873.6 billion
17:27from the official development assistance of JICA and a loan from a bank.
17:32This year is the original target completion date of the project,
17:36but due to the road right-of-way problem,
17:38the project's target partial operations are already in the fourth quarter of 2027.
17:45We are on target. We are on time.
17:48The partial operations for Clark to Valenzuela in December of 2027,
17:55in our worst-case scenario, is the first quarter of 2028.
18:00Another major railway project of the government is the LRT 2 West and East Extension.
18:06For the LRT 2 East Extension, Php 9.5 million was allocated by the government operating in 2021.
18:15The Php 10 million for the West Extension is currently under a comprehensive study, said the DOTR.
18:24There is an ongoing study for the rehabilitation of Line 2
18:30because our new workers are already there.
18:33So that's a total of 10-kilometer expansion.
18:37If we add up the 13 railway projects,
18:40there are five ongoing construction and rehabilitation projects.
18:44One is already done.
18:46Three are in the pre-construction phase and four are still under feasibility study.
18:53The DOTR admitted that their common problem in implementing projects is the road right-of-way.
19:00It is not easy to resolve.
19:02It's not that easy.
19:03There are so many special laws in right-of-way acquisition.
19:07Loan agreement, safety guidelines of JICA and ADB.
19:11There is the LENA law or the Housing Urban Development Law.
19:16We cannot just pay the landowner if his documents are not complete, if his papers are not complete.
19:23For the civil society group, ALT Mobility,
19:27it is a big thing to arrange the land that will pass before the project starts.
19:31If the project is delayed, the layout of the rail services will take a long time.
19:38Second, the budget allocated for this will be wasted.
19:43They agreed and the railway sector of DOTR is fighting their agency.
19:49That is what we are fighting for.
19:51Before we start the project, let's fund it and let's commence the right-of-way.
19:56We are asking the DOTR to allow us, even prior to the loan agreement,
20:04as long as the NEDA-ICC approves it, the right-of-way acquisition will continue.
20:13The DOTR railway sector is adding more effects if there is a delay in the project.
20:20The project costs will not increase.
20:23There will be standby costs and prolongation costs.
20:26We will have to extend the hiring of personnel and consultants.
20:30As time goes by, the price of land increases.
20:33Most of all is the loss of time and opportunity.
20:40According to the University of the Philippines National College of Public Administration and Governance or UPNCPAG,
20:47there is also an implication here in the fund, especially almost all railway projects are borrowed by the government.
20:53The effect of that is if the project is not followed from conception to feasibility study,
21:02to detail design, and all the way to construction, the construction becomes more expensive.
21:08First, because you will repeat all the requisite studies before you break the ground.
21:15If that goes down, there will be opportunity costs, so it becomes more expensive.
21:19So you need to infuse more capital.
21:22The implication is that there will be restructuring of loans.
21:28There needs to be a comprehensive transportation plan.
21:33If you look at the budget presentation of DOTR or their plans, it is very project-based.
21:39They will do the Metro Manila Subway project here,
21:43they will do the NSCR here, and they will separate the plan of active transportation.
21:51We are doing our best to finish this as soon as possible,
21:57so that we can provide comfortable, environment-friendly, and affordable transportation for our countrymen.
22:10Railway projects in the country are now being constructed simultaneously.
22:16It is important to ensure that each project is done properly and correctly.
22:22Even if it is borrowed by a loan, given by another country, or from the citizens,
22:28it should be properly inspected.
22:31Because we are the ones who will pay for it.
22:35Until next Saturday, I am Mackie Pulido.
22:39I am Jun Venaracion, and this is Reporter's Notebook.
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