The Senate has assured continued funding for big-ticket railway projects as Senate Finance Committee Chair Senator Joseph Victor "JV" Ejercito and acting Transportation Secretary Banoy Lopez inspected its ongoing construction on Thursday.
The inspection came a day after President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. broke ground for the subway project's NAIA Station. The President has ordered the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to speed up the construction of railway projects to ensure timely completion and ease the daily commute of Filipinos.
Ejercito said he wanted to see the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) and the Metro Manila Subway Project (MMSP) for himself to ensure that funding would no longer be disrupted.
"Sana ngayon, tuloy tuloy under my [finance chairmanship], that's why I wanted to see it for myself to make sure that the funding will not be disrupted anymore para no more delays (I hope it continues under my finance chairmanship, that is why I wanted to see it for myself to make sure that the funding will not be disrupted anymore so there are no more delays)," he said.
The senator said he wants the NSCR and the subway operational as soon as possible so Filipinos, especially those in Metro Manila, Laguna, and Pampanga, can use them.
Lopez assured commuters that the DOTr is expediting construction of both railway systems so they can save time and increase productivity.
"Now, we really need this kind of project, itong mga railway, itong subway, itong NSCR (Now, we really need this kind of project — these railways, this subway, this NSCR)," he said.
They visited the ongoing construction of the NSCR's West Valenzuela Station and its Operations Control Center, the MMSP depot and Quirino Station, and the Philippine Railway Institute (PRI).
They also inspected the NSCR's eight-car train set, which can carry at least 2,200 passengers per trip.
Both projects are funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
Once operational, the 147-km. 35-station NSCR will serve at least 800,000 passengers from Metro Manila, Central Luzon, and Southern Luzon daily.
The 33-km. MMSP, meanwhile, will benefit 519,000 passengers, reducing travel time from Valenzuela City to NAIA Terminal 3 to 40 minutes from the current one hour and 10 minutes.
The two projects are expected to ease traffic in the northern and southern parts of the metropolis while spreading economic growth in adjacent provinces.
Ejercito and Lopez were joined by Japanese Embassy Minister for Economic Affairs Yokota Naobumi, JICA Senior Representative Takanori Morishima, Transportation Undersecretary for Railways Timothy John Batan, Undersecretary for Philippine Railways Institute Anneli Lontoc, Assistant Secretary for Railways Infrastructure and Public-Private Partnership Eduardo Danilo Macabulos, and Assistant Secretary for Railways-Operating Lines Paul Anthony Pangilinan. (PNA)
