The impending blueprint that will pave the way for the Chinese consortium to pour in huge financial assistance to rebuild the ailing Philippine railways, particularly in the southern part of Luzon leading to the Bicol region, would be an excellent idea once it is put on streams. When done, the newly developed railway would not only decongest traffic, but it will also make mass transportation more afforadable, fast and convenient to most commuters.
But it hard to understand why until now, nothing much has been done so that the project can be started. Nobody could say if the issue still lies in the hands of the Board of Investments (BOI) to decide on the matter. Or that the impending project was again affected by the stalled ZTE broadband project, which China is planning to undertake in the Philippines.
With the onset of the rainy season, the roads leading to Southern Luzon is always experiencing gridlock due to patches of flooding along the route. And the South Expressway is already bursting at the seams owing to the presence of vehicles plying along the route. Right now, construction activitities are being undertaken that all the more contributed to the heavy traffic that irritates most motorists and commuters alike.
The Department of Transportation, in coordination with other agencies, shouild do something about it, if it is really serious in easing the heavy traffic in that part of the world. There is no doubt that once this problem is solved, housing will no longer be a big problem for most people because they can always go home to the countryside that is being serviced by the new railway service. However, it is not clear now if some private transportation companies are trying to raise a lobby money to stop this project. For them, the implementation of the new railway service linking the southern part of Luzon, would mean less revenues for the transportation companies. It’s a logic that is simple to understand. And this might be the reason why the project is not moving and probably experiencing a stalemate because some transportation firms are pressuring the DOTC to disregard the project. What is your comment on this, DOTC Secretary Leandro Mendoza?