PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. has ordered the creation of a panel that would oversee right-of-way issues affecting railway projects in the country.
Under Administrative Order (AO) No. 19 or the document “Creating the Inter-Agency Committee for Right-of-Way (ROW) Activities for National Railway Projects,” the Department of Transportation will head the panel, while the Philippine National Railways serves as its secretariat.
“Issues concerning land acquisition, as well as resettlement activities for project-affected persons, adversely affect the timelines of railway projects,” read part of the AO.
“There is a need to constitute an inter-agency committee for ROW activities to accelerate the implementation of railway projects, and ensure the high-level cooperation and support from concerned government agencies to streamline the process of land acquisition and delivery of services,” it further read.
The inter-agency committee was also “created to study and devise an efficient and collaborative mechanism to streamline the process of land acquisition necessary for the implementation of all railway projects.”
Among their tasks is to “identify the appropriate services or programs as well as the specific implementing government agencies to ensure effective completion of these services and programs in relation to land acquisition and other ROW activities, such as livelihood, income restoration and resettlement” as well as to “review, deliberate, and resolve or act on issues and grievance complaints elevated to the Committee.”
“The Committee may call upon the assistance of concerned government agencies and entities, as may be necessary in the performance of its functions,” according to the AO.
The AO also directs the committee to submit a bi-annual report to the President “detailing, among others, the committee’s accomplishments, and status of ROW acquisition activities for ongoing railway projects.”
There are at least five railway projects under the Marcos Jr. administration. These include the Metro Manila Subway Project, North-South Commuter Railway System, Mindanao Railway Project, Philippine National Railway and the South Long Haul. (ABS-CBN News)
