Villars open to donating land for LRT-1 extension

To end dispute

MANILA, Philippines —  The Villars are open to donating a parcel of their land in Las Piñas City to the government so that the final leg of the Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT-1) Cavite Extension can be finished soon.

Acting Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez yesterday said his agency is in talks with the Villar family on how they could resolve the right of way (ROW) issues for the LRT-1.

Lopez denied claims that the Villars are to blame for the construction delays of the project, as he said the family would even be donating a parcel of their property to expedite completion.

As of February, the Light Rail Transit Authority has acquired roughly 70 percent of the ROW for the second segment of the extension. The LRTA is trying to resolve how the LRT-1 can cross its intended alignment now that another government project stands in the way.

In 2024, the Department of Public Works and Highways completed the P300-million C5-Quirino Flyover in Las Piñas to ease traffic flow. However, the flyover took up the space that the LRT-1 was supposed to traverse.

Las Piñas Rep. Mark Anthony Santos is proposing the demolition of the flyover to make way for the second leg of LRT-1’s Cavite line.

Although Lopez is open to this, he said such a proposal requires a traffic study to determine how it would impact vehicle flow, noting the flyover and the railway could co-exist.

“There are suggestions to remove the flyover. They say it’s because of its width. If we do that, if we take it down, I say we do a traffic study first,” Lopez said.

Lopez is being pressed by President Marcos to find a resolution to ROW troubles of some of the government’s big-ticket projects.

The target is to develop a final alignment for the LRT-1 Cavite extension before the end of the Marcos administration in 2028.

The LRT-1 Cavite Extension Project will expand the LRT-1’s service by nearly 12 kilometers. In 2024, LRT-1 operator Light Rail Manila Corp. opened the first phase of the extension, stretching the railway to Parañaque City.

The second and third legs will build stations in Las Piñas, Zapote and Bacoor, raising the number of LRT-1 stops to 28 between Quezon City and Cavite.

The extension is expected to increase the LRT-1’s daily ridership to around 800,000, with travel time between Pasay City and Cavite slashed to less than 25 minutes.