NATIONAL
Advocates Philippines
NSCR: Delicate Government Balancing Act
Sec. Jaime Bautista (Right) and usec Jeremy Regino (Center) during a recent project inspection. Photo courtesy from DOTr
The Department of Transportation (DOTr) earned a lot of plaudits for what the public now perceives as a firm resolve to provide commuters with a modern, efficient and high-speed means of transportation while helping solve the serious traffic woes of Metro Manila. The present administration has finally put a major solution in place. However, it now faces the delicate task of balancing progress with the social and human costs that comes with clearing the needed rights-of-way.
The solution is a rail-based transportation infrastructure called North South Commuter Line (NSCR) project – the 146-kilometer railway which will link Calamba City in the south to the New Clark City in Central Luzon. Touted as the country’s biggest investment in a transportation project, the NSCR will include an airport express service which will bring travelers from Alabang and Makati to the Clark International Airport in less than half the time it takes to make that trip today: approximately 45 minutes.
The NSCR will have a total of 36 stations. It will directly interconnect with a number of other rail transport systems in Metro Manila, both existing, under construction and on the drawing board. These are light rail transit lines 1 and 2, metro rail transit lines 3 and 7.
The NSCR is the product of the evolution of earlier attempts by past administrations to create a modern rail link between Metro Manila and the hubs of commerce south and north of the National Capital Region. It nearly permanently shelved after the it ran into funding issues and the then-administration decided to scrap a financing deal with China. It finally got off the ground in the final months of the Duterte Administration when funding arrangements were sealed with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
With funding in place, the project commenced and is being done in three phases: the 38-kilometer long Tutuban to Malolos section; the 53-kilometer Malolos-Clark portion; and the 55-kilometer southern corridor linking Calamba City with Blumentritt in Manila. Significant progress has happened in the Bulacan portion of the project, with a number of stations nearing completion.
The Metro Manila portion of the project commenced prior to this year’s Holy Week. An announcement of the suspension of the commuter service of the Philippine National Railways (PNR) for the next five years signaled the start of this phase. It also bared the extent of the next major challenge that the DOTr will have to deal with – the massive informal settler communities which have lined up along the legacy tracks of the PNR.
This challenge now calls for the Marcos Administration to walk the tightrope as implementing agencies led by the DOTr attempts to finish the NSCR project on time. They will have to address the need to dismantle structures set up by informal settlers and to relocate them following procedures prescribed by Philippine laws.
The bigger challenge, it appeared, was the reported lack of cooperation from a handful of barangay officials. In certain instances, there were reports that the said officials had allegedly blocked government teams doing surveys and public consultations in their areas. They had also reportedly prevented construction teams deployed by NSCR private contractors from entering work areas located within their jurisdiction.
The obstacle posed by these officials forced the DOTr during the latter part of the Duterte administration to file complaints before the Ombudsman. Concerns like this led President Bongbong Marcos Jr. to make a statement in July of 2023, saying, “I urge everyone involved in the project: spare no effort to complete this monumental task for the benefit of generations to come.”
13,000 illegal structures
The size of the affected communities, the number of families involved and the resistance of some grassroot officials to the project had triggered concerns that the NSCR project may not be finished on time, thus making the government incur huge additional project costs as a result of the delay.
Recently, PNR General Manager Michael Macapagal announced that some 13,000 illegal structures will have to be dismantled to clear the right-of-way. The move is necessary to enable contractors to build the wider tracks that the NSCR trains require. It will also ensure that trackside dwellers will not be exposed to physical danger while construction is going on.
The number of illegal structures is staggering. More, they cannot just be demolished randomly. There is a process prescribed by law before they can be removed. This is why DOTr Undersecretary for Railways Jeremy Regino clarified that the demolition of the said structures does not have a definite schedule yet. Regino said there are necessary preparations prior to the actual demolition.
According to Regino, these steps include intensive information campaigns and consultations with affected families; coordination with housing agencies on relocation sites; updating the survey data on the number of households affected; and, the preparation of rental subsidies and other allowances to be allocated to the said families.
Regino added that the government will set up mechanisms for the affected families through which they can file complaints, send feedback or make appeals.
“The demolition of the structures set up by informal settlers will be done gradually and on a per-construction-site-need basis,” Regino assured, saying the government bears in mind “the safety and welfare of all concerned”.
Balancing Act
Regino was echoing the provisions of Article 13 of the 1987 Constitution which says, “urban and rural poor dwellers shall not be evicted nor their dwellings demolished, except in accordance with law and in just and humane manner”. The “just and humane manner” is prescribed in three Republic Acts: RA 7279 or the “Urban Development and Housing Act of 1992”, RA 8974 and RA 10752, which facilitate “the acquisition of Right-of-Way, site or location for national government infrastructure projects”.
The said laws provide that affected parties must be given the “opportunity to be heard and to participate in decision-making processes which affect their collective interests”.
Part of the protection of such interests are the public hearings, consultations and mechanisms for feedback and complaints mentioned by Regino.
While the DOTr is at the forefront of the bid to clear the right-of-way of illegal structures and informal settlers, based on the laws referred to, local governments and housing agencies actually play a major role. It is the said agencies which enable government to play the delicate act of balancing the interests of rapid socio-economic development and the interests of underprivileged families which comprise the bulk of informal settler communities.
President Marcos Jr. provided the key to the success of the balancing act with the creation of an inter-agency committee “to streamline the process of acquiring land needed to implement major transport projects. Last March, he signed Administrative Order No. 19 forming the committee “for Right of Way Activities for National Railway Projects”.
The committee is headed by Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista with Housing and Urban Development Secretary Jerry Acuzar as co-chairman. They are joined by the secretaries of the interior, budget, finance, justice, social welfare and environment, as well as the solicitor general.
In creating the Committee, President Marcos reiterated his concern that “land acquisition and resettlement activities for project-affected persons adversely affect the timelines” of the railway projects. His instruction to the committee reflected the bid of the government to balance interests. The President called for the acceleration of the railway projects and ordered the committee to ensure “high-level cooperation and support from concerned government agencies.
He added that these are to be done while ensuring the “delivery of services” to project-affected persons. It is now up to the committee to translate the President’s instructions into a meaningful balancing act. - XXX
The solution is a rail-based transportation infrastructure called North South Commuter Line (NSCR) project – the 146-kilometer railway which will link Calamba City in the south to the New Clark City in Central Luzon. Touted as the country’s biggest investment in a transportation project, the NSCR will include an airport express service which will bring travelers from Alabang and Makati to the Clark International Airport in less than half the time it takes to make that trip today: approximately 45 minutes.
The NSCR will have a total of 36 stations. It will directly interconnect with a number of other rail transport systems in Metro Manila, both existing, under construction and on the drawing board. These are light rail transit lines 1 and 2, metro rail transit lines 3 and 7.
The NSCR is the product of the evolution of earlier attempts by past administrations to create a modern rail link between Metro Manila and the hubs of commerce south and north of the National Capital Region. It nearly permanently shelved after the it ran into funding issues and the then-administration decided to scrap a financing deal with China. It finally got off the ground in the final months of the Duterte Administration when funding arrangements were sealed with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
With funding in place, the project commenced and is being done in three phases: the 38-kilometer long Tutuban to Malolos section; the 53-kilometer Malolos-Clark portion; and the 55-kilometer southern corridor linking Calamba City with Blumentritt in Manila. Significant progress has happened in the Bulacan portion of the project, with a number of stations nearing completion.
The Metro Manila portion of the project commenced prior to this year’s Holy Week. An announcement of the suspension of the commuter service of the Philippine National Railways (PNR) for the next five years signaled the start of this phase. It also bared the extent of the next major challenge that the DOTr will have to deal with – the massive informal settler communities which have lined up along the legacy tracks of the PNR.
This challenge now calls for the Marcos Administration to walk the tightrope as implementing agencies led by the DOTr attempts to finish the NSCR project on time. They will have to address the need to dismantle structures set up by informal settlers and to relocate them following procedures prescribed by Philippine laws.
The bigger challenge, it appeared, was the reported lack of cooperation from a handful of barangay officials. In certain instances, there were reports that the said officials had allegedly blocked government teams doing surveys and public consultations in their areas. They had also reportedly prevented construction teams deployed by NSCR private contractors from entering work areas located within their jurisdiction.
The obstacle posed by these officials forced the DOTr during the latter part of the Duterte administration to file complaints before the Ombudsman. Concerns like this led President Bongbong Marcos Jr. to make a statement in July of 2023, saying, “I urge everyone involved in the project: spare no effort to complete this monumental task for the benefit of generations to come.”
13,000 illegal structures
The size of the affected communities, the number of families involved and the resistance of some grassroot officials to the project had triggered concerns that the NSCR project may not be finished on time, thus making the government incur huge additional project costs as a result of the delay.
Recently, PNR General Manager Michael Macapagal announced that some 13,000 illegal structures will have to be dismantled to clear the right-of-way. The move is necessary to enable contractors to build the wider tracks that the NSCR trains require. It will also ensure that trackside dwellers will not be exposed to physical danger while construction is going on.
The number of illegal structures is staggering. More, they cannot just be demolished randomly. There is a process prescribed by law before they can be removed. This is why DOTr Undersecretary for Railways Jeremy Regino clarified that the demolition of the said structures does not have a definite schedule yet. Regino said there are necessary preparations prior to the actual demolition.
According to Regino, these steps include intensive information campaigns and consultations with affected families; coordination with housing agencies on relocation sites; updating the survey data on the number of households affected; and, the preparation of rental subsidies and other allowances to be allocated to the said families.
Regino added that the government will set up mechanisms for the affected families through which they can file complaints, send feedback or make appeals.
“The demolition of the structures set up by informal settlers will be done gradually and on a per-construction-site-need basis,” Regino assured, saying the government bears in mind “the safety and welfare of all concerned”.
Balancing Act
Regino was echoing the provisions of Article 13 of the 1987 Constitution which says, “urban and rural poor dwellers shall not be evicted nor their dwellings demolished, except in accordance with law and in just and humane manner”. The “just and humane manner” is prescribed in three Republic Acts: RA 7279 or the “Urban Development and Housing Act of 1992”, RA 8974 and RA 10752, which facilitate “the acquisition of Right-of-Way, site or location for national government infrastructure projects”.
The said laws provide that affected parties must be given the “opportunity to be heard and to participate in decision-making processes which affect their collective interests”.
Part of the protection of such interests are the public hearings, consultations and mechanisms for feedback and complaints mentioned by Regino.
While the DOTr is at the forefront of the bid to clear the right-of-way of illegal structures and informal settlers, based on the laws referred to, local governments and housing agencies actually play a major role. It is the said agencies which enable government to play the delicate act of balancing the interests of rapid socio-economic development and the interests of underprivileged families which comprise the bulk of informal settler communities.
President Marcos Jr. provided the key to the success of the balancing act with the creation of an inter-agency committee “to streamline the process of acquiring land needed to implement major transport projects. Last March, he signed Administrative Order No. 19 forming the committee “for Right of Way Activities for National Railway Projects”.
The committee is headed by Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista with Housing and Urban Development Secretary Jerry Acuzar as co-chairman. They are joined by the secretaries of the interior, budget, finance, justice, social welfare and environment, as well as the solicitor general.
In creating the Committee, President Marcos reiterated his concern that “land acquisition and resettlement activities for project-affected persons adversely affect the timelines” of the railway projects. His instruction to the committee reflected the bid of the government to balance interests. The President called for the acceleration of the railway projects and ordered the committee to ensure “high-level cooperation and support from concerned government agencies.
He added that these are to be done while ensuring the “delivery of services” to project-affected persons. It is now up to the committee to translate the President’s instructions into a meaningful balancing act. - XXX
Apr 14, 2024
