DOTr enlists OSG for ROW clearance

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Transportation (DOTr) is working to resolve more than 130 disputes on right-of-way (ROW) for its largest rail projects, prompting it to tap the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) to speed up expropriation proceedings.

In a workshop, the DOTr tapped the OSG in mass drafting expropriation pleadings for 137 sites needed to put up the P873.6-billion North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) and P488.5-billion Metro Manila Subway Project (MMSP).

Transportation Assistant Secretary Irish Calaguas said unresolved ROW claims for the 137 sites amount to P1.07 billion, requiring the DOTr to team up with the OSG to hurry up expropriation.

The claims cover 40,488 square meters of land in the northern segment of the NSCR and 25,194 sqm in the southern line of the railway. The claims also involve 3,177 sqm for the MMSP.

Under the OSG-assisted plan, the DOTr will file expropriation pleadings en masse in hopes of securing court permits to possess the lots in question. This is beneficial for the DOTr in its bid to catch up on delays in building the railways.

Acting Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez said the effort to work with the OSG also aligns with the presidential directive to fast-track completion of big-ticket projects.

“The President told us to speed up the delivery of these projects, so the DOTr will do everything to comply with the timeline and that passengers can use them as soon as possible,” Lopez said.

In October, the DOTr secured ROW for six sites in Bulacan and Pampanga critical for the NSCR, parcels of which are located at the Clark International Airport and SM City Clark.

NSCR, the country’s single largest infrastructure investment to date, will fully operate by 2032. Partial runs for the NSCR are scheduled by 2027 for the Malolos-Valenzuela segment and by 2028 for the Malolos-Clark leg.

Meanwhile, MMSP faced challenges in entering business districts and posh villages, pushing completion to as far as 2032. However, the DOTr is starting to recover lost ground in the ROW, recently landing the properties it has to secure in gated villages like Corinthian Gardens.

NSCR will extend for 147 kilometers between the Clark International Airport and Calamba, Laguna, and is estimated to transport 800,000 passengers daily once completed.

MMSP, the country’s first underground rail, spans 33 kilometers across 17 stations between Valenzuela City and the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, and it is projected to cut travel time from point to point to just 35 minutes.