DOTr, ipinanukala ang P19.8-B upang pondohan ang Road Transport Sector projects sa 2022
Ipinanukala ng Department of Transportation (DOTr) ang P19.8-billion budget upang mapondohan ang ilang Road Transport Sector Projects sa bansa para sa taong 2022.
Sa nasabing pondo, tanging P1 million lamang para sa sektor ang inaprubahang mapabilang sa National Expenditure Program (NEP) para sa 2022.
“We agree that there should be more funds allotted for the road sector. Hindi kakayanin na isang milyon lang sa road sector. Nandyan ang service contracting, bike lane, ang libreng sakay,” pahayag ni DOTr Secretary Art Tugade.
Dagdag pa nito, “Kaya po kami ay humihingi ng tulong sainyo sa Senado na ito ay mabago at madagdagan, dahil ito po ay mahalaga at kailangan ng mga drayber, operator at pasahero, lalo ngayong panahon ng pandemya.”
Sa locally funded projects para sa road sector, ipinanukala ng kagawaran ang P13.2 billion, habang sa foreign-assisted projects (FAPs) naman ay nagkakahalaga ng P6.61 billion.
Sa kabuuang 13.2 billion sa local road projects, inilaan ng DOTr ang P10 billion sa Service Contracting Program, P1.5 billion sa Active Transportation Infrastructure and Related Programs, P800.71 million sa PUV Modernization Program , P472.97 million sa EDSA Busway Project, P125.91 million sa Makati-BGC Greenways, P40 million sa Feasibility Study para sa Ilocos Norte Transport Hub, P10.71 million sa Taguig City Integrated Terminal Exchange, P100 million sa Feasibility Study para sa Bataan Bus Rapid Transit, at iba pa.
Ipinanukala rin ng kagawaran ang pagpondo sa FAPs tulad ng EDSA Greenways Project (P243.47 million), Davao High Priority Bus System (3.59 billion), Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Project (2.47 billion) at Metro Manila BRT Line Project – Quezon Avenue (P300 million).
Nilinaw naman ng DOTr na hindi totoong ipinanukala lamang ng kagawaran ang pondo para sa rail sector.
“It is not true that DOTr only proposed funding for the rail sector. As explained by Secretary Tugade, we proposed funding for all of DOTr’s four (4) sectors, including projects in the road, maritime, aviation, and railways sectors. It just so happened that most of the funding approved by the DBM are for railways sector projects,” giit ni Transport Undersecretary for Railways TJ Batan.
Base sa survey ng World Bank noong 2019, ika-199 pwesto ang Pilipinas pagdating sa haba ng operational railways infrastructure.
“Yan ang dahilan kung bakit malaki ang kinakailangan na budget para matustusan at maisara ang napakalaking infrastructure gap na aming nadatnan sa sektor ng riles,” ani Tugade.
Ayon naman kay Batan, “Most of the rail projects that the DOTr is catching up on implementing were conceptualized, planned, and started decades ago, such as the Mindanao Rail in 1957, the Metro Manila Subway in 1973, the North South Commuter Railway or PNR Clark in 1994, LRT-2 East Extension in 1999, LRT-1 Cavite Extension in 2000, MRT-7 in 2001, and the Common Station in 2006.”
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