MANILA – Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Jaime Bautista on Tuesday said the cuts in its 2025 budget would have a minimal impact on its 16 infrastructure flagship projects (IFPs) that need to be implemented as soon as possible.
While Bautista admitted that the DOTr suffered “some reductions” in its budget from foreign-assisted projects, it would still be able to fund its flagship transport projects from the loan proceeds.
“It has a very minor effect,” Bautista said in a Palace press briefing, when asked if the budget cuts would affect the implementation of its flagship transport projects.
“The ones that were reduced basically are the loan proceeds but these are foreign-assisted projects. But in spite of that not being included in the budget ‘no, we can still avail of the loans, so that we can fund these major projects like the Metro Manila Subway and the North-South Commuter Railway,” he added.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Tuesday presided over the first full Cabinet meeting at Malacañan Palace in Manila where the delays in the implementation of IFPs were discussed.
Bautista said the acquisition of properties, right-of-way and site acquisition, funding, relocation of informal settler families, relocation of utilities, and registration of properties are some of the issues that are causing delays in the implementation of the DOTr’s flagship projects.
During the Cabinet meeting, Marcos has instructed the DOTr and concerned government agencies to work together to ensure that the flagship transport projects would be implemented before the end of his term in 2028, Bautista said.
Bautista said an inter-agency committee has also been formed to resolve the issues about the right-of-way, which is the “biggest problem” in the implementation of infrastructure projects.
The inter-agency committee, Bautista said, is composed of the DOTr, the Department of Public Works and Highways, the Department of Justice, the Office of the Solicitor General, and the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development.
“So, ang (the) instruction ng (of the) President is to coordinate with all government agencies so that all the issues are resolved,” he said. “‘Yung (The) Office ng Solicitor General will really help us, especially in pursuing expropriation cases so that we can take possession of those properties that we need, so that we can implement our projects.”
Some of the DOTr’s flagship projects include the North-South Commuter Railway, the Metro Manila Subway Project, Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Lines 4 and 7, Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 1 Cavite Extension, the New Cebu International Container Port, the Philippine National Railways (PNR) South Long Haul, Mindanao Railway, and the New Dumaguete Airport Development.
Bautista said the current administration remains optimistic that the flagship transportation projects would be implemented on time.
“With all those projects and ways forward plans that we will implement, we are expecting that we will be able to resolve these problems and implement the projects still on time,” he said, adding that the election ban would not hinder the implementation of the DOTr’s infrastructure projects. (PNA)