Senators question DOTr budget cuts, delayed projects
MANILA, Philippines — Lawmakers have raised concerns about the impending budget cuts that could potentially slow down some of the country’s ongoing railway projects, which they said would ultimately affect the national government and the country’s economic recovery.
During his interpellation on the proposed budget of the Department of Transportation, Sen. JV Ejercito said that the North-South Commuter Railway suffered a budget cut of around P40 billion, while about P10 billion was slashed from the proposed budget for the Metro Manila Subway in the House version of the budget.
On the other hand, the Senate’s version saw P69 billion removed from the budget’s unprogrammed appropriations, which will be used to pay for the live contracts of the contractors.
“If ever there are budget cuts, definitely, the right of way acquisition will be affected. [...] What that means is that if there are delays in right of way and relocation of utilities, definitely, the construction and civil works will also stop. Civil works and mechanical works will also take time to load,” Ejercito said in mixed Filipino and English.
“I appeal to my colleagues to restore the budget that was cut. It's almost half. This will definitely affect the schedules. This will also entail financial charges. We will be burdened by these financial charges,” he added.
Construction for the P488.47-billion subway project, dubbed the future "crown jewel" of the country's railway system by the Department of Transportation, is financed through a loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency. It is seen to be fully operational by 2028, accommodating up to 519,000 passengers daily.
While the lion's share of the ongoing big-ticket rail projects are funded by private and international partners, such as the Asian Development Bank and JICA, the national government is slated to shoulder the right-of-way acquisition of land for railway facilities, as well as the value-added tax that will be incurred by the said projects.
Railway delays projected amid pandemic
Sen. Grace Poe, the proposed budget’s sponsor, admitted that the budget cuts Ejercito pointed out could potentially delay the country’s railway projects.
“We keep doing this for all of our projects. This is not new. We need to be able to see what the priorities are and hopefully, this is one of them,” Poe said.
Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, on the other hand, questioned the delayed DOTr projects worth P1.61 trillion flagged by the Commission on Audit in July.
Poe responded by saying this was largely due to the restrictions caused by the coronavirus pandemic, which caused delays in both acquisition and manpower in the construction of the projects.
"The P1.3 trillion is about 14 projects which have a range of completion from 2025 until 2029," she reasoned.
Ejercito also said these budget cuts will also endanger the country’s image before the international community, as well as President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.'s thrust towards railway development.
“More importantly, the delay in the completion of our railway projects because of lack of government support will also bring a lack of confidence from investors. It will paint a bad picture in the international community, while the President is trying hard to sell the country, that we are already open for business. The government should do its part,” he said.
“The development of the country’s railway system will serve as our economic driver and stimulate economic growth. It will bring massive development, not just in Metro Manila, but in other parts of the country as well. It will create jobs and improve the lives of Filipinos by spreading out development in the countryside."
Lawmaker calls for Libreng Sakay extension for EDSA Carousel, rail lines
In a separate statement sent to reporters, Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte (Camarines Sur, 2nd District) urged both chambers of Congress to realign funds in the final version of next year’s General Appropriations Act allowing the Department of Transportation to extend its subsidized public transport initiatives in 2023.
Villafuerte urged Congress to “scour for available funds during the coming bicameral deliberations on the 2023 GAA that would be enough for the DOTr to stick next year not only with Libreng Sakay for commuters at the EDSA Busway but also with Libreng Sakay for students at the LRT-2.”
As it currently stands, the free rides are limited from 4 a.m. to 11 p.m. after the DOTr failed to secure funding to sustain it in 2023. But the national government shells out P10 million to P12 million each day to the participating bus companies for serving about 300,000 daily passengers.
For 2022, the government released P7 billion to the DOTr for Libreng Sakay, with an extra P1.4-billion given in September to extend its implementation until end-December.
DOTr officials have said there would be no Libreng Sakay at EDSA in 2023 because the DBM did not include in the 2023 NEP that it submitted to lawmakers the P12 billion that the DOTr had originally asked to keep this free bus ride program going next year. — Franco Luna
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