The Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) have filed a total of 105 expropriation cases for the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) project.
The transportation department said this is the largest number of expropriation cases filed for a single project in the history of the agency.
The DOTr said this initiative is in line with the directive of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., to fast-track the completion of the country's major transport infrastructure projects.
DOTr Secretary Banoy Lopez said the milestone reflects the agency's strong commitment to deliver the project on time.
"Utos ng ating Pangulo na bilisan ang pagkumpleto sa mga mahahalagang proyekto gaya ng North South Commuter Railway,. Kaya sisiguruhin natin na masusunod ang timeline nang magamit na ito ng mga pasahero dahil tiyak na malaking benepisyo ito para sa ating mga komyuter. We're very thankful to the Office of the Solicitor General for this partnership," Lopez said.
The cases were taken up during a three-day ‘Write workshop on Expropriation Cases’ held in Clark, Pampanga, where both agencies jointly reviewed the status of each case, addressed legal bottlenecks, and mapped out the necessary steps to expedite their resolution.
Through close coordination, the DOTr and OSG were able to expedite the endorsement and raffling process, ensuring that expropriation cases proceed without delay and that affected infrastructure projects remain on schedule.
DOTr Assistant Secretary for Right-of-Way and Site Acquisition (ROWSA) IC Calaguas, who spearheaded the Write workshop, emphasized the importance of resolving expropriation cases swiftly in order to keep infrastructure projects on track.
"With this development, matitiyak natin na maide-deliver ang proyekto on time. Patuloy nating sisikapin na mapabilis ang pagresolba sa mga legal na usapin upang mas mabilis na maipatupad ang mga proyekto para sa mga pasahero," Calaguas said.
In his fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA), Marcos announced that the operations of the Valenzuela to Malolos segment of the NSCR is expected to start next year.
The DOTr said it is continuously working to complete the line extending to Clark before the end of the President’s term in 2028.
The NSCR is a 147-kilometer railway project with 35 stations that aims to connect Metro Manila to Pampanga and Laguna. It will cut travel time across the region from four hours to just two hours.
The railway is expected to be fully operational by 2032 to serve over 800,000 passengers daily.