No budget allotment for LRT rehab in 2025

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Transportation (DOTr) has failed to secure a budget for the rehabilitation of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Lines 1 and 2 that would have benefitted the 435,000 Filipinos who ride the railways every day.

Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista yesterday told lawmakers that the DOTr will find it challenging to pursue projects left out in the 2025 National Expenditure Program (NEP), such as the upgrade of LRT-1 and LRT-2.

The DOTr had sought a budget of P19.65 billion and P9.65 billion for the rehabilitation of LRT-1 and LRT-2, respectively, but the proposals were removed in the NEP submitted to Congress.

The LRT-1, operated by Pangilinan-led Light Rail Manila Corp. and regulated by state-run Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA), ferries an average of 298,740 commuters every day. Before 2024 ends, the line will be extended to Parañaque City, and projections are that ridership will increase.

Moreover, the LRT-2, operated by the LRTA, serves 149,331 passengers a day. Although it is the least busy among the rail lines in Metro Manila, the LRT-2 is in need of expansion and upgrade, as its headway—the interval between the arrival of trains—stands at 10 minutes currently.

Likewise, the DOTr failed to get approval for its request of P18.8 billion for the construction of the Metro Rail Transit Line 4, a railway that will stretch for 12.7 kilometers from Quezon City to Rizal, co-funded by the Asian Development Bank and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

Although multilateral lenders will cover the bulk of the project cost, the DOTr also has to spend for other items, such as right of way acquisition.

In aviation, the DOTr will miss out on its P925.56 million plan to purchase new communications and navigation surveillance equipment for air traffic control, necessary to prevent a repeat of the airspace closure on New Year’s Day in 2023.

In maritime, Bautista said his P3.05 billion pitch for the New Cebu International Container Port Project was also rejected. The project, covering 25 hectares, is designed to accommodate at least two 2,000 TEU vessels at the same time, decongesting the Cebu International Port.

There was also a P7 billion request to extend the Service Contracting Program, but this amount was also taken out of the NEP. The program ensures that public utility drivers are paid based on the service rendered per kilometer, doing away with the traditional boundary system.