USEC. ROCKY IGNACIO: Good morning, MPC; welcome sa ating weekly Economic Briefing. Tayo po ay napapanood nang live sa PTV at naririnig sa Radyo Pilipinas. Today we have Asec. Tony Lambino para i-introduce ang ating guest.
ASEC. LAMBINO: Salamat, Usec. Rocky. Pagbati po sa inyong lahat at welcome sa ating weekly Economic Press Briefing co-organized by the Economic Development Cluster and PCOO.
Ayon sa datos mula sa Japan International Cooperation Agency o JICA, nasa 3.5 billion pesos kada araw ang nawawala sa Pilipinas bunsod ng traffic sa Metro Manila pa lamang. Ito ay katumbas ng mga economic resources at oras na dapat sanay nailaan sa mas makabuluhang mga bagay tulad ng pagtatrabaho, pagnenegosyo, pagpapahinga at higit sa lahat, oras para sa pamilya.
Sa ilalim ng zero-to-ten point socio economic agenda ng administrasyong Duterte, isa sa mga prayoridad ang pagpapalago ng infrastructure investment and development. Ang infrastructure po ang may pinakamalaking multiplier effect sa ating ekonomiya. Sa unang pagkakataon sa loob ng limampung taon, lumampas na sa 5% ng GDP ang infrastructure investment ng Pilipinas. Ito ay mas mataas kumpara sa 2.4% na average nang nakalipas na apat na administrasyon. Inaasahang aabot pa ito sa 7% pagdating ng 2022.
Malaking pondo ang kailangan sa pagpapatuloy ng infrastructure development sa ating bansa. Sa tulong ng kita mula sa Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion o TRAIN Law, nagkaroon ng fiscal space at kakayanan ang pamahalaan para pondohan at ipagpatuloy ang Build, Build, Build Program.
Ang lead agency ng Build, Build, Build Program ang Department of Public Works and Highways na siyang tumugon sa pagpapatayo ng kinakailangang imprastraktura upang mapabilis ang daloy ng trapiko at mapadali ang access sa negosyo at serbisyo, mapalago ang turismo at kalakalan, at mabigyan nang mas komportableng biyahe ang mga pasahero at motorista. Lahat ng ito tungo sa hinahangad nating ‘comfortable life for all’.
Ngayong umaga ay makakasama natin ang Chair ng Infrastructure Cluster at ang Public Works and Highways Secretary na si Secretary Mark Villar upang ibahagi ang mga accomplishments ng DPWH sa nakaraang taon kaakibat ng Build, Build, Build Program.
Secretary Villar…
SEC. VILLAR: Maraming salamat at magandang umaga po sa inyong lahat. At alam ko naman po na marami pong interesado sa ating Build, Build, Build Program at nais ko pong ibahagi sa inyong lahat kung ano po ‘yung mga accomplishments lalo na po ngayon at halfway point ng administrasyon ni President Duterte at I’m sure gusto ninyo rin malaman kung ano po ang naging accomplishments at kung ano po ‘yung plano natin sa susunod na two year in this—sa susunod na three years almost, two and a half years sa administrasyon ni Presidente.
Unang-una po, magbibigay po ako ng overview ng implementation ng ating mga projects. Ito po ang first slide: Makikita ninyo po since 2016, paakyat po ‘yung disbursements. So ibig sabihin, nakapag-implement po ang gobyerno sa 2019 ng 696 billion pesos worth of projects. In fact during—since 2016, this is the beginning of the term ni President Duterte, the government was able to implement 2 trillion worth of infrastructure projects. This is unprecedented in the history of our country.
Ito ang comparison: Sa 2012, in the years 2012 to 2015 ang value ng projects na na-implement ng gobyerno ay 715 billion. In the year of 2016 for the same time period under the term of President Duterte, the government was able to implement 2 trillion worth of infrastructure projects. So you can see almost a 183% increase in the volume and scale of the projects implemented by this administration.
So specifically, absolute value po, ‘yun ang peso value po ng mga projects. Specifically, ano po ‘yung mga projects na nagawa po ng Duterte administration? Una po sa flood control, we have completed 6,022 flood control structures during the first half of the term; 14,670 kilometers of road that were constructed, maintained, upgraded and rehabilitated; 4,507 bridges that were also constructed, widened, upgraded, rehabilitated and strengthened; and of course, a 129,479 classrooms were built under the administration of President Duterte accounting for a significantly improved classroom-to-student ratio.
At siyempre po, napaka-relevant ngayon given na may problema tayo sa Taal. Kasama po sa program ni Presidente ang pagko-construct ng evacuation centers sa lahat ng probinsiya. So to date, we’ve constructed 114 evacuation centers. In fact some of those evacuation centers are being used now for the evacuation of the Taal residents. Mayroon po kaming evacuation centers sa Tanauan, Sta. Rosa and San Pascual. Iyon po ‘yung mga pictures ng ating evacuation centers and those are actual evacuees who recently occupied the evacuation centers.
Kaya malaki pong investment, napakahalaga po na mag-i-invest ang gobyerno sa mga resilient infrastructures to prevent… to minimize the damage of natural calamities. Ang tinatawag po natin dito ay iyong livable, sustainable resilient communities.
So I’ll give you some examples of big ticket projects under this program. Unang-una, ito po ng flood risk management project for Tagaloon River. This was a project that was completed already under the term of the President. It involves—ito po ‘yung picture, construction dike – this is in Misamis Oriental; and this was completed last year, it involves the construction of flood protection dike and sluiceways.
Isa pong project for mitigation of calamities is the Pasig-Marikina River Channel Improvement Project Phase 5. Natapos na po ‘yung ibang phases—Phase 4, natapos na po namin ‘yung ibang phases; ito na ang latest. Ginagawa po namin ngayon ‘yung detailed engineering design which is 65% complete and we will start construction this year. So this includes floodgates, dams and of course increasing the volume capacity for the Pasig-Marikina River.
At siyempre sa Pampanga po, napakalaking problema ang flooding kaya mayroon din kaming masterplan for the flooding in Pampanga; pinantawag po namin dito, the Integrated Disaster Risk Reduction Climate Change Adaptation in Low-lying Areas of Pampanga Bay. This is a project that’s on-going, it involves the widening of the third river in the Pampanga River Basin. So ito po ay on-going, it includes bridges and of course makikita ninyo po ‘yung mga sluice gates, so malaking project po para sa region.
And of course in Cavite, napakalaki po ng industrial area sa Cavite; so we have the Cavite Industrial Area Flood Management Project which is already targeted to start in 2020 and we will complete it significantly within the term of the President. So when this has finished, more than 556 hectares in Cavite will be saved from flooding and it will be minimized significantly dahil sa Cavite Industrial Flood Management.
Siyempre po sa Mindanao, sa Maguindanao po ‘yung Ambal-Simuay River and Rio Grande, this is also a major project for the Mindanao area. Napakalaking problema sa Maguindanao iyong flooding and this will be the solution, the Ambal-Simuay River, it also create a channel that will minimize the flooding and allow an outlet for Liguasan Marsh.
Next po, the Metro Manila Seismic Improvement: We have two bridges here in Metro Manila, ito po ay isang sample ng strengthening ng ating mga bridges. Siyempre lahat po ng bridges tuluy-tuloy po ang programa namin para ma-strengthen para maging seismic-rated po ang ating mga bridges. At two of the largest bridges here in Metro are the Guadalupe and Lambingan Bridge. This is slated both to be retrofitted and strengthened to make it seismic-rated. When I say seismic-rated, up to intensity 8 earthquake can be withstood by these bridges once we’ve completed the retrofitting. And this will start this year.
Siyempre hindi lang po sa Metro Manila, pero marami kaming convergence program, these are partnerships with the Department of Transportation, Department of Tourism, Department of Trade and Industry and we do local projects na may national significance or may national purpose. So, ito po iyong mga examples una po itong isang example ng aming convergence sa DOTR, we just completed the Panglao Airport and the road network surrounding the new Panglao Airport was funded through the convergence programs. Makikita n’yo po ito iyong actual road, we spend 200 million pesos to improve the road network, in partnership with the Department of Transportation which opened the Panglao Airport last year.
Also sa Camarines po, Pasacao-Balatan Tourism Highway. This is also ongoing 40 kilometer road project to improve the tourism in Camarines Sur, that’s ongoing and of course the Boracay Circumferential Road.
We are all familiar with 6 months closure ng Boracay at itong almost 1 billion, the government spent almost 1 billion pesos to rehabilitate, hindi lang po iyong road network, pati iyong drainage system sa Boracay. So, at this point, natapos na po iyong first phase ng Boracay Circumferential road and we already more than 60% sa phase 2 ng Boracay circumferential road. Ito po iyon mga pictures, you can see the difference na gumawa na kami ng –kung dati po, there was a very narrow road previously, naging standard six meters plus the two meter sidewalk, so ten meters ang nakuha namin, so may two meters sidewalk on each side and there is a road network with drainage.
Dati po kasi walang drainage po, kaya ngayon nagkaroon ng drainage, nagkaroon pa ng sidewalk, makikita n’yo po sa pictures iyong before and after of the Boracay circumferential road doon po. Ito iyong port then makikita n’yo po iyong sidewalk. Ayan! So iyon nag downtown, ito po iyong wet land area. So makikita n’yo po iyong before and after, and the wider sidewalks, pati iyong mga utilities na-transfer na rin po.
And of course binanggit po kanina ni Usec, iyong mga loses natin sa traffic, almost 2.5 billion pesos a day and it actually, even higher. So, ano pong solution natin dito sa traffic. Unang-una po, binanggit ko po dati iyong Luzon Spine Expressway Network. The objective of the Luzon Spine Expressway is to connect the north to the south via high speed highway network. Pag natapos po iyong high speed highway network, ang travel time po from La Union to Bicol will be cut from almost 18 hours to only 8 to 9 hours.
So, kasama po sa Luzon Spine Expressway is of course the TPLEX, which is by this year, we are pushing to open the final Rosario exit. And very soon, we will also approved and start the extension, iyong TPLEX extension hanggang San Fernando so, makikita n’yo po sa mapa. Patapos na iyong original alignment at ngayon po sisimulan na iyong extension up to san Fernando. So, this is part of the iyong sinabi namin Luzon Spine Expressway Network, pag natapos po ito, you will be able to go from North to South via high speed highway.
And aside from the Spine, meron din tayong mga laterals, kasama din po itong Central Luzon Link expressway, CLEX. The first phase from Tarlac is already completed – package 1, that’s 4.1 kilometers, ‘pag natapos po ito hanggang Cabanatuan – from Tarlac to Cabanatuan. And this will benefit 11,000 motorists a day at tatapusin po namin ito sa term ni President. This is a 30-kilometer four-lane expressway. We have already finished the first package of CLEX.
Ito po iyong widening, natapos na po namin iyong arterial bypass at ngayon po wina- widen kasi two lanes ang first phase. Ngayon naman po nasa second phase na kami and we will be completing this, also within the term.
At this point we already at 75% for the construction and at this point hanggang—meron po tayong star toll pero wala pa tayong high speed highway going to Quezon, so ito po iyong TR4, which has already started construction, it’s a 66 kilometer toll road. We have already acquired significant right of way sa TR4, ito siguro mga tatlong beses na ito na na-inaugurate, pero hindi pa nasisimulan.
At this point, it’s already—civil works are ongoing, we have already acquired significant portions of right and way and we also targeting to finish this within the term of the President. So iyong biyahe ninyo papuntang Lucena, umaabot din ng 4 to 5 hours, pag natapos po ito baka kalahati na lang, baka one to two hours na lang po ang biyahe papuntang Lucena.
And of course, after Quezon itutuloy namin ito hanggang Bicol, which is why we have the CABEX! Last year, we finished the final feasibility study for the CABEX. So at this point we are ready to start implementing. It’s a 220 kilometer highway going to Bicol and this will be the final leg of the Luzon Spine Expressway Network, the south portion.
So, we submitted to the NEDA and very soon, we can expect ICC approval and implementation.
Kasama rin po ang Camarines Sur expressway which is a 15.2 kilometer expressway which is also a priority and civil works are ongoing. So ano po ang effect nito, the time between San Fernando and Pili will be reduced from 51 minutes to only 11 minutes.
At siyempre po sa Cebu, ongoing na po iyong Metro-Cebu Expressway – 73 kilometer expressway from Naga City to Danao City, travel time from 3 hours to only 1 hour and 10 minutes between the two. And it’s ongoing at this point, the segment of the Naga-Talisay boundary. So, the first segment is already ongoing, makikita n’yo po iyong picture ng Metro Cebu Expressway.
Natapos na po iyong Cagayan De Oro coastal road, this was the project that in the past encountered the right way issues, pero na-resolve kaagad at ngayon tapos na po. So, nagagamit na po iyong Cagayan De Oro coastal road.
Ongoing now sa Davao City coastal road, ito po iyong picture. As you can see, it’s already in advance stages of construction, the first phase. So it’s a 18 kilometer bypass road, which includes 9 bridges and it’s expected at least 10,000 travelers per day and napakalaking bagay dahil matrapik na po sa Davao at ito ang magiging major bypass road sa Davao. So, as you can see, there are already significant portions that were completed and we target to open first phase by this year.
Isa pang project sa Davao iyong Davao City bypass which should be pavement of 45.5 kilometer highway which is also ongoing now sa Davao and we also target to complete significantly within the term of the President at this point, it is—the detail engineering is ongoing for packages. Originally two lanes, pero win-widen namin, so four lanes na siya.
At ito po gusto ko rin i-present dahil isa po sa commitments ni President Duterte is the decongestion of EDSA.
So, I’m sure many of you are curious kung ano po ang status ng decongestion program ni President Duterte and what we can expect in the next few years. The value of the projects that will be implemented to decongest EDSA is 384 billion pesos. And ito po iyong mga projects na naka-line up para sa EDSA decongestion.
You can see in the map, ito po iyong blue, ito iyong EDSA, ito pong mga red, these are the projects that are—the bypass roads. Of course EDSA at this point, hindi na natin kayang i-widen, it’s not cost efficient. So, ang ginagawa natin ngayon is gumagawa na kami ng mga bypass road. Iyon po ang strategy ni President Duterte, gumagawa na siya ng mga skyways, mga bypass roads. So individually ipapakita ko po kung ano po iyong mga status ng ating mga roads.
Ito po iyong napakaimportante, iyong Skyway Stage 3, it’s an 18.3 kilometer viaduct connecting NLEX to SLEX. So makikita n’yo po iyong ongoing construction, pag natapos po itong Skyway Stage 3, iyong travel time from Makati to Balintawak, ngayon po siguro kung gagamitin iyong EDSA, it will reach almost maybe 1 ½ to 2 hours. ‘Pag natapos po itong Skyway, the travel time from Makati to Balintawak would be reduced to 15 to 20 minutes.
What is the status of this at this point? Almost 76%, but at this point maybe approaching 80% na iyong construction. We are targeting to open this by April. So, by April of this year, one hundred thousand cars will be relieved from EDSA. EDSA today—the capacity of EDSA is two hundred eighty thousand.
Ang—the volume of traffic today is four hundred thousand. Para ibalik natin sa dati kailangan nating i-reduce ‘yung traffic by one hundred twenty thousand cars. With this single project alone, ang expectation namin is almost one hundred thousand cars a day ang mawawala po sa EDSA.
So, with these projects we can expect there would be significant improvement by the second quarter of this year. So, as early as this year malaki po ang magiging improvement sa EDSA.
NLEX Harbor Link—hindi lang po ‘yung Skyway mayroon pa tayong NLEX Harbor Link na makakabawas sa traffic sa EDSA. This Harbor Link, we already completed the first phase. Ang ginagawa po namin ngayon is the connection to R10. ‘Yung R10, diretso na po ‘yan sa port so ‘pag natapos po itong Harbor Link, lahat po ng trucks na galing sa port ay aakyat na lang sa R10 at didiretso na sa NLEX. Ang expected vehicular traffic sa NLEX Harbor Link is thirty thousand.
In our first phase, we have five thousand cars a day dahil hindi pa kumpleto ‘yung alignment. ‘Pag nakumpleto po ‘yung alignment, we expect thirty thousand vehicles a day, karamihan po trucks, ang dadaan po sa NLEX Harbor Link.
So, the Skyway – hundred thousand cars a day, ito po thirty thousand cars a day, pero isipin n’yo na lang po trucks ang dadaan. Napakalaki ng mga trucks, so isang truck equivalent siguro ng apat-limang kotse. So, malaking bagay po itong Harbor Link.
And what is the status of today? We will open the first ramp by February and we’ll open the whole alignment including exit ramp by March of this year. So, sunud-sunod pa ‘yung openings natin stating February, March April – Harbor Link, Skyway.
So, in the first half of this year, we will reduce traffic in EDSA by twenty to thirty percent.
At hindi lang po—ire-report ko rin ‘yung R10 dahil nung pumasok po kami maraming nag-encroach sa R10, ‘yung highway. Six-lane—this is a twelve-lane highway in the port. So, early in this Administration we were able to widen the highway. Kung makikita n’yo po ngayon, dati marami pong nag-encroach sa highway, so ‘yung twelve lanes naging ano na lang… naging seven lanes na lang… seven or eight lanes. So, we were able to clear it and this is a completed project. So, early in this Administration we completed that.
Ngayon po, ang next ay NLEX–SLEX Connector. Iba po ‘to, hindi ito ‘yung Skyway, iba po ‘yung connector. Makikita n’yo po ‘yung alignment, ito po co-connect siya sa Harbor Link going through Manila sa train station. So, pagdating ninyo sa—gagamiting ninyo ‘yung Skyway, magkakaroon ng exit sa Makati area and then lalabas siya papuntang Manila and eventually co-connect na siya sa Harbor Link.
So, ano po ang purpose nito? ‘Pag natapos po itong connector, lahat po ng trucks na galing sa port, lahat po vehicles galing sa Manila hindi na kailangang dumaan sa EDSA, hindi na kailangan dumaan sa ibang kalye, they will just go straight to the connector going to SLEX or NLEX. So, lahat po ng trucks halos mawawala sa Metro Manila streets dahil gagamitin na lang nila ‘yung NLEX – SLEX Connector. And this will be delivered in 2021.
Ito po, kasama din po ‘yung Harbor Link Segment 8.2; new segment of 8.2, it’s an eight kilometer expressway from Mindanao Avenue to Republic Avenue. And ang purpose nito ‘pag natapos po ito, ‘yung travel time between Mindanao to Commonwealth will reduce from forty-five minutes to ten minutes. So, this will complete the Harbor Link. So, ‘yung Harbor Link ngayon hanggang Valenzuela and then hanggang Quezon City hanggang Mindanao Avenue; itutuloy po namin yung Harbor Link, so additional 8.35 kilometers.
And another local project, ‘yung Mindanao Avenue Extension – 3.2 kilometers – will continue the Mindanao Extension until sa Kaybiga Road. Doon maraming mga pabrika doon sa Kaybiga Road so itutuloy po namin ‘yung Mindanao Extension and we can expect delivery of this project within this year. It’s already sixty-eight percent complete.
Mayroon din tayong mga medium-size projects. Itong Samar Street natapos na po; ito, bypass din sa EDSA so pina-widen namin – 1.1 kilometer para lumuwag po ang EDSA sa area na ‘yan. So, ito po ay isang example ng local project na makakatulong sa decongestion ng EDSA.
And of course, C-6 ongoing na po. Eventually, ‘yung Skyway magkakaroon na ng down ramp connecting to C-5 but at the same time magkakaroon ng viaduct, C-6 dadaan sa Tanay and then eventually bababa siya sa… of course, in… sa Quezon City. Makikita n’yo po ‘yung alignment… ito po ‘yung C-6. And this will also serve to—ang baba niyan Batasan.
So, this will serve to decongest given alternative route to C-5 and also EDSA. So. makakabawas din ‘to sa EDSA. This is an ongoing project also ide-deliver po namin sa term ni President ‘tong C-6 Expressway.
Ito, natapos na po itong Laguna Lake Highway. This is a 6.9 kilometer from Bicutan to Rizal to Taytay. Kung dati po isang oras po ang biyahe, ngayon po thirty minutes. At napakaganda po ng Laguna Lake Highway dahil ito po ‘yung first highway na may independent bike lane. So, dito makikita n’yo po ‘yung bike lane, this is already in use, it’s already been—it was completed early in the term of the President. Started and completed sa term ni President Duterte – Laguna Lake Highway.
South Link Project, ito makakabawas din sa EDSA dahil iko-connect niya ‘yung C-5 sa CAVITEX. So, ‘yung mga galing sa Cavite, galing sa south, hindi na kailangang dumaan sa EDSA, didiretso na sila sa C-5 using the C-5 South Link; again, to be delivered in 2022. Already ongoing, natapos na po namin ‘yung tawid. So, actually may portion ang South Link na nagagamit na. So, from the south… from Parañaque puwede nang tumawid papuntang C-5 utilizing the newly constructed bridge. So, may portions that are usable already for the South Link.
And of course, NAIAX Phase 2. We will be expanding NAIAX also. Magkakaroon din ng down ramp sa Lawton Avenue, kaya may widening din kami ng Lawton Avenue papuntang BGC para ma-accommodate po ‘yung down ramp from NAIAX. So, we will be expanding the connections of NAIAX so it will improve also the options ng ating mga motorista.
So, ‘yun ang road pro—hindi lang po road projects po… hindi lang po road projects ang EDSA decongestion, mayroon din po kaming mga bridge projects. So, I’d like to present some of the bridge projects that will also decongest EDSA.
So, unang-una po ‘yung Bonifacio Global City – Ortigas Center Bridge. This is the bridge going from BGC, going to Ortigas. At this point, we’re at forty-four percent. Ito, makikita n’yo tumatawid na po ‘yung bridge. So, we’re already halfway, ginagawa na ‘yung kabilang side. We’re hoping to finish this hopefully by early 2022. So, as early as next year we hope to—first quarter of next year we will deliver this bridge project. ‘Pag natapos po ito, at least thirty thousand cars ang mawawala sa EDSA, Guadalupe in particular. Dahil napaka-congested ng Guadalupe Bridge, ‘pag natapos po itong BGC Link, ang expected vehicular traffic is almost thirty thousand per day.
Next is the Binondo–Intramuros Bridge. Also, makakatulong din po ito sa decongestion which is ongoing now at twenty-seven percent construction. Ito po ang picture ng ongoing construction and then that’s the rendering of the iconic—lahat po ng bridges sa Metro Manila ay iconic, napakagaganda ng design and definitely it’s of the highest level of quality, lahat po ng bridges na gagawin po namin sa Metro Manila.
Of course, ongoing na rin ‘yung Estrella–Pantaleon. In fact, they’re already fabricating portions of the bridge. So, isasalpak na lang po sa substructures so makikita n’yo na po ongoing na. At this point, almost fifty percent construction. So, we can expect that either by the first quarter of next year made-deliver na rin ‘yung Estrella-Pantaleon. And this will help to decongest EDSA
Ito po ‘yung ibang bridges na naka-lineup sa Metro Manila: ‘Yung North – South Harbor Bridge; the Palanca – Villegas Bridge; the East Bank – West Bank Bridge, also scheduled to be started by this year. So, ‘yung tatlong bridges na binanggit ko kanina, we expect to deliver it by next year, ‘yung iba will be starting full force construction this year. Kasama rin po ‘yung Marikina – Vista Real Bridge; J.P. Rizal – Lopez Jaena Bridge; and J.P. Rizal – St. Mary Bridge.
So, ito po, these bridges are deliverables in Metro Manila as part of the decongestion program of EDSA. So sa EDSA decongestion—what can we expect sa EDSA decongestion by this year? By the second half of this year, we will relieve EDSA 20 to 30 percent. Malaki po ang improvement sa EDSA and for the first year starting this year and in subsequent year, we will see continued improvements along EDSA.
As per committed by our President, isa po sa mga commitments ni Pangulo ang decongestion ng EDSA. And I can say at this point in this administration, we will deliver on the promise to bring back EDSA to its original capacity.
What I presented are the projects that we included in our masterplan. The President conceptualized this masterplan early in this administration and ngayon po, mararamdaman na po natin ang EDSA decongestion program ng ating Pangulo.
Hindi lang naman limited sa Metro Manila ang ating mga projects. Banggitin ko na rin po ang ibang projects natin across the country. So sa Samar po, Samar-Pacific Coastal Road – this is a billion-peso project in Samar which is ongoing, 30%. It will be connecting—magiging bahagi po ito ng Samar Circumferential Road. It will serve to access very isolated areas in Samar Province which is one of our poorer provinces. So kasama po tatlong bridges and we hope that this will bring even more development to Samar Island.
And of course ang Inter-Island Bridge Program: These are the projects—at this point, we can already—we know which are the projects that are at advanced stage of planning and which we can deliver within the term of the President. And the bridges, the Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge, this is 32.15-kilometer bridge, obviously connecting Bataan to Cavite. At this point, it’s already been approved by the NEDA-ICC last December and will be ready for—we’re doing the detailed engineering design to be started as early as this year, we can already begin the Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge. So it’s an advanced stage of planning, ginagawa na po namin iyong detailed engineering design. And based on our studies, napakalaki po ng rate of return kaya gi-no (go) po ng NEDA-ICC ang Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge.
Next is the Panay-Guimaras-Negros Bridge, this is also a mega-bridge between Negros and Panay Island. And at this point, it has also passed the NEDA-ICC committee. So at this point, the detailed engineering design is ongoing and will be ready for implementation before the end of the term of the President. So these projects are a ‘go’ and in fact they are in advanced stage and they are ready for—we’ll be implementing it very soon, within the year.
Another major bridge is the Panglao-Tagbilaran Offshore Connector Bridge, pang-connect Panglao Island to Tagbilaran. So the civil works—actually nasimulan na po ‘yung civil works, so—the existing bridge is very… napakakitid po. Ito mas wider po ‘yung bridge and of course it’s a… mataas po siya. So it allows for navigation between the waterways.
Cebu-Mactan Bridge, at this point it was approved by NEDA-ICC so we’re looking for funding for this Cebu-Mactan—we are already funding the Cebu-Mactan Bridges and will be ready to be implemented during the term of the President.
Of course the Samal Island-Davao City Connector Bridge, another mega-bridge that is—the Samal Island-Davao City which is also a four-lane bridge that at this point it was also approved by NEDA Board. So it’s—we’re already in advanced stage to the detailed engineering design and will also ready for implementation.
Iyong Pangil Bay Bridge, already patapos na rin iyong detailed engineering design, so it’s a 3.7. So this is the first bridge that we’ll be able to deliver during the term of the President, 3.7 kilometers. To date, the longest bridge in the Philippines is only 2 kilometers. Ito pong Pangulo Bay Bridge is 3.7 kilometers. At ano po ang magiging effect? From Lanao Del Norte to Misamis Occidental 2.5 hours; ‘pag natapos po itong bridge, ‘yung travel na 2.5 hours magiging 10 minutes na lang. So this will be—already full force implementation by this year.
At nais ko ring i-present ang Mindanao Peace and Development Infrastructure Support. Ito, kasama din mga bridges, these are major bridges in the Zamboanga Peninsula and also Tawi-Tawi. So ito, ‘yung Guicam Bridge, Tawi-Tawi Bridge… these are all ongoing bridges na—and of course will be finished within the term of the President.
At siyempre po sa Marawi, nais ko ring i-announce na ongoing na po ‘yung masterplan road network ng Marawi. Makikita ninyo po ‘yung pictures, ito po ‘yung Marawi Trans-Central Road Network na ongoing ngayon and it’s almost 20.8 kilometers trans-central roads. So kung dati wala pong drainage, ngayon po magkakaroon ng drainage, mawa-widen po ‘yung road network at magiging international standard na po ‘yung road network natin sa greater Marawi area.
So ito po ‘yung reconstruction and recovery of Marawi, all of which is now… tapos na po ‘yung masterplan, so ito na po ‘yung magiging bagong road network ng Marawi which includes viaduct, bailey bridges, the trans-central roads… So napakalaki pong development itong Marawi masterplan and this is ongoing now; we’ll be able to deliver this within the term of the President.
So ito po, ito po ‘yung map ng road network… So as you can see… ito po ‘yung mga projects natin. Hindi ko rin kayang banggitin lahat po ng mga projects ng DPWH sa dami po, twenty thousand projects ongoing. So hindi ko talaga kayang banggitin, pero ito po’y isang summary ng ating mga big ticket projects that we can expect to be implemented within the term of the President.
Sinabi ko po kanina iyong EDSA decongestion malapit na po. As early as this year, we will see continuous improvements on EDSA and nationwide. Nakikita ninyo naman po na napakalawak po ng Build, Build, Build Program ng ating Pangulo. And going to the next two years, we will continue to deliver even more projects. First three years, 2 trillion worth of projects ay natapos po ni President Duterte and we can expect na lalong dadami po ang mga proyekto ng Build, Build, Build – hindi lang po sa DPWH pati sa DOTr at sa ibang ahensiya.
So maraming salamat po. Iyon po ang update ng DPWH sa ating mga flagship projects ng Build, Build, Build and we will continue to update you as we deliver more projects. Maraming salamat po.
PIA GUTIERREZ/ABS-CBN: Hi sir, good morning. Sir, when you said that by the second half of this year, the government will be able to relieve EDSA by 20 to 30 percent of vehicles. That’s with the completion of what projects, sir?
SEC. VILLAR: The Skyway, the first Skyway Stage 3 will be—we will deliver this by April or May, by the second quarter. Let’s say second quarter of this year, we’ll deliver the Skyway Stage 3 and this will be able to relieve one hundred thousand – ito pa lang, sa Skyway Stage 3. And by March of this year, we will deliver the Harbor Link Extension connecting to the port and this will be able to relieve EDSA of almost 30 thousand cars a day, ang expected vehicular traffic.
But sa Harbor Link, dapat i-note din natin iyong 30 thousand na ‘yan, karamihan po mga trucks. So napakalaking bagay sa decongestion ng Metro Manila. So these two projects alone will be delivered in the first quarter of this year. By next year, we’ll be able to deliver the bridge projects, iyong BGC—by the first quarter iyong BGC Bridge, Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge, Binondo-Intramuros. And then iyong ibang projects po, iyong C-6, that’s a continuous—we’re continuously implementing it; iyong NAIA Extension, the South Link…
So in total, starting this year we’ll see every year magkakaroon po ng improvements sa EDSA, drastic improvement. So as early as the second half of this year, mababawasan na po ang traffic ng EDSA by almost—ang prediction namin is between 20 to 30 percent ang magiging improvement po sa EDSA by the second half of this year.
PIA GUTIERREZ/ABS-CBN: Sir, so the entire EDSA decongestion program, do we expect that to be delivered within the Duterte administration?
SEC. VILLAR: Yes! Yes we do, that was the intention. And in fact for the past few years the President has personally been active in the right of way of these flagship projects and nag-assign kami ng mga teams para tutukan itong mga EDSA decongestion projects. And you can see at this point, we’ve been able—as early as last year, na-deliver na po ‘yung right of way ng Skyway, iyong connector malapit na po at ‘yung Harbor Link, na-deliver na rin po ‘yung right of way of the Harbor Link. So we are confident that by the end of the term of the President, EDSA will be back to its original capacity.
PART 5-ECONOMIC BRIEFING-JAN 22,2020
PIA GUTIERREZ/ABS-CBN2: So, sir when the entire decongestion program is finished, so could you give us a sense of what will happen in EDSA? You said that you will be able to restore EDSA to its former capacity. What does that mean, sir?
SEC. VILLAR: The capacity of EDSA is approximately 288,000 cars per day. Based on our projections, currently, the usage of EDSA is 400,000 per day. Based on our projections, we would be able to relieved EDSA at least a 120,000 – bringing it back t0 its original capacity of at least… pero sa tingin ko hindi lang 120,000. Pag natapos na po iyong mga project ng EDSA decongestion, mahigit pa sa 100,000 ang mawawala sa EDSA.
PIA GUTIERREZ/ABS-CBN2: sir, last na lang, si President kasi, he promised iyong Makati to Cubao na 5 minutes, when will that be possible, sir?
SEC. VILLAR: Very soon! Actually, iyong binanggit ko po kanina, pag natapos iyong skyway, Makati to Balintawak, imagine SLEX to NLEX, 15 minutes. Eh kung 15 minutes lang iyan, eh di Makati to Quezon City ang lapit lang, baka 5 minutes lang talaga.
PIA GUTIERREZ/ABS-CBN2: So, can we expect that, sir within the year?
SEC. VILLAR: Yes.
JOSEPH MORONG/GMA7: Sir iyon pong volume reduction, that’s assuming there will be no new cars right?
SEC. VILLAR: That is why hindi lang 120 ang target namin, we expect that magkakaroon talaga ng additional vehicle sa EDSA. But of course iyong increase—that is why may allowance din kami, hindi naman eksakto 120,000 ang target namin. Mahigit pa sa 120,000 ang target namin para may kaunting allowance. But at the same time, iyong long term solution po sa traffic natin is mass transit and which Secretary Art Tugade is at the advance stages of his master plan also.
Iyong subway po magsisimula na po this year, iyong LRT 7 is already at an advance at stage of construction, more than 60%. Iyong railway, na extend na po iyong railway, nakabili na sila ng bagong train na, iyong mga cabs, nakabili na sila and they have extended PNR. So, this is done in conjunction with the improvement of the road network. Sa road network pa lang luluwag na ang EDSA. Dagdagan mo pa itong mga tren and we can see that the long term situation will improve because of the master plan of our President.
ARIANNE MEREZ/ABS-CBN.COM: Sir, itanong ko lang po, iyong last year po kasi na-delay iyong passage ng budget, pero this year naman po, hindi. Meron po bang projects under the EDSA decongestion program na naapektuhan or on track po lahat ng spending natin?
SEC. VILLAR: On track naman, kasi hindi naman lahat ay GAA, meron ding mga PPPs and kami naman nagde-deliver ng right of way at siyempre may partnership kami sa private sector. So, tuloy-tuloy naman po ang delivery ng ating mga projects, nagkaroon ng challenge siyempre dahil sa late passage ng budget. But makikita n’yo naman po sa performance nakapag-implement din ang DPWH ng 696 billion worth of projects, which is the highest ever by far, and the year before that we implemented 590. So despite the headwinds, despite the late budget, despite the election, this administration was able to still deliver on the build, build, build and the numbers will show that – 696 billion of projects implemented.
ARIANNE MEREZ/ABS-CBN.COM: So, sir may back logs pa po ba tayong hinahabol because of that?
SEC. VILLAR: Siyempre hindi naman 100%, meron pa rin kaming kailangang gawin, hindi pa naman tapos ang trabaho. Iyong traffic decongestion sinabi ko po kanina na every year magkakaroon po ng improvement. So this year ang ide-deliver po namin, iyong harbor link extension, iyong skyway, next year ide-deliver po namin iyong mga bridges across Pasig, iyong first three bridges, pati C-6 and next 2021, ide-deliver namin iyong connector road. Pag pinagsama-sama po lahat po ng decongestion projects, we can expect that before the President would deliver on his commitment to decongest EDSA definitely. At this point, what was thought, iyong dati akala natin imposible, ngayon inevitable na iyong decongestion ng EDSA. And I can say at this point, na halfway point, the decongestion of EDSA is inevitable.
ARIANNE MEREZ/ABS-CBN.COM: And sir, iyong full EDSA decongestion program, will that be fully realized by 2022 or by next year po, ilan na po iyong progress?
SEC. VILLAR: Kami naman po, hindi naman dapat I hard stop lahat ng projects sa 2022, siyempre meron din kaming mga master plans. In fact, nung pumasok kami, walang masyadong feasibility study, kaya gumawa ng mga feasibility study. And it takes one or two years, so ang ginawa namin ngayon, gumawa na kami ng pipe line worth almost 1.8 trillion pesos, nung pumasok kami 50 billion ang pipeline, ngayon 1.8 trillion pesos. So, ito po ay magiging basis ng long term growth ng Philippines. So kung sinuman ang susunod na Presidente, meron na siyang pipeline of high quality, high-yield projects na immediately implementable.
ARIANNE MEREZ/ABS-CBN.COM: Sir, last na lang. But by 2022, babalik po sa original capacity na 288,000
SEC. VILLAR: That’s our projection. Based on out numbers now at least, we’ll bring it back to original capacity.
CELERINA MONTE/MANILA SHIMBUN: Sir, you have mentioned kanina regarding the 5 minutes na travel time. So, are you saying na iyong 5 minutes ay going to Makati is using the skyway and not EDSA?
SEC. VILLAR: Well point to point ang pinag-uusapan natin di ba Makati to Quezon City. So if you are asking me kung kaya iyan, yes kaya 5 minutes from Makati to Quezon City.
CELERINA MONTE/MANILA SHIMBUN: Pero, sir iyong promise ni President ni Cubao to Makati, kasi we are thinking.
SEC. VILLAR: Ganundin iyan, kasi Quezon City is Cubao din naman.
CELERINA MONTE/MANILA SHIMBUN: Yeah, but were thinking na it’s using EDSA, so this time.
SEC. VILLAR: Hindi naman niya sinabi na though EDSA. The President just said Makati to Cubao five minutes.
CELERINA MONTE/MANILA SHIMBUN: Kasi nag perception before and presumption was using EDSA, so this time it’s through skyway talaga, iyon yung clarification?
SEC. VILLAR: Ah, well luluwag pag natapos na iyong skyway, luluwag din ang EDSA, so it’s possible also. Huwag na tayong mag-focus sa mga maliit na detalye. Ang importante lang sa term ni President, made-decongest natin ang EDSA, at iyong 5 minutes from Cubao to Makati possible po magagawa natin.
CELERINA MONTE/MANILA SHIMBUN: But sir iyong EDSA kasi, that’s a major thorough fare tapos kung sa skyway we are expecting that there will be toll fee.
SEC. VILLAR: Yes.
CELERINA MONTE/MANILA SHIMBUN: So siyempre mas preferred ng tao iyong walang toll fee, so kaya iyong 5 minutes na pinag-uusapan, so hindi siya EDSA, skyway na siya?
SEC. VILLAR: Puwede ring EDSA, puwede ring skyway. Because you remember, hindi naman lahat ng—may mga tao na willing magbayad, di ba, meron namang siyempre may konting toll. But at the same time, pag nagkaroon ng 100,000 a day sa skyway, luluwag din ang EDSA. So, maari po magiging—siyempre hindi ko naman ma-predict exactly kung ano ang mangyayari. But ang importante lang iyong 5 minutes, eh kung iyong 15 minutes from Makati to NLEX kaya, eh definitely iyong 5 minutes kayang-kaya din iyan.
CELERINA MONTE/MANILA SHIMBUN: Sir, regarding the toll fee. So although hindi kayo—or I think part kayo ng if ever, na magde-decide kung magkano iyong toll fee – how much iyong ine-expect natin dito sa bagong skyway?
SEC. VILLAR: Hindi pa naman finalized iyong toll fee but more or less as a guide we can expect more or less about to 4 to 5 pesos per kilometer ang magiging toll fee, more or less.
FRANCIS WAKEFIELD/TRIBUNE: Sec., good afternoon. Follow up lang doon sa tanong about sa EDSA. Kasi every month dumadami po ang bumibili ng kotse, I mean nadadagdagan ang kotse sa kalsada. Meron bang tie up ang DPWH or nakipag-usap na ba kayo sa LTO or other agencies para ma-lessen iyong ano, kasi bumibili nga through banks.
SEC. VILLAR: Kaya ang sinasabi ko ang importante po, iyong long term solution po ng ating traffic is iyong mass transit. Of course, hindi naman under sa department ko po iyong trains, pero gusto ko ring banggitin na advance na rin iyong implementation and planning ng ating mga train network. Meron na po iyong subway, which is the flagship of the President. At this point, natapos na po ni Sec. Art Tugade iyong feasibility study, detailed engineering design and this year, mai-implement na po iyong subway. Napakalaking bagay iyong subway, walang comparison po iyong road sa train in terms of capacity per square meter, malayo po.
Kaya ang sinasabi ko po ngayon, may plano kami sa road network para lumuwag, para ma-decongest iyong EDSA, pero meron din kaming long term plan for the—which is the railway, iyong subway, iyong PNR, iyong LRT, iyong MRT and makikita n’yo po sabay-sabay po iyong construction. And this was with the purpose that by the end of the term of the President, matatapos po lahat. Tatapusin talaga namin ang traffic sa term ni President.
JOYCE BALANCIO/DZMM: Sir, ipinag-utos ni Pangulong Duterte na magtayo po nga mga bagong disaster-resilient evacuation centers. Since the order of the President, ano na po ‘yung steps being taken and how many centers—
SEC. VILLAR: Of course there’ll be additional budget. May plano po na magkaroon po additional budget para sa evacuation centers. Mayroon din po tayong naitayo—binanggit ko po kanina mayroon na pong one hundred plus evacuation centers at ‘yung iba nga nagagamit na po. And in fact, in one of our evacuation centers nailipat po ‘yung mga evacuees from the school to the evacuation centers.
So, kailangan pang dagdagan. Of course, sa dami rin ng mga evacuees we need more so that’s—‘yan ang sinasabi po ni President na kailangan pa nating dagdagan and there are moves at this point to increase the budget for evacuation centers.
JOYCE BALANCIO/DZMM: Ano pong timeline natin, sir, and how many evacuees—
SEC. VILLAR: As early as this year. In fact, in this year’s budget mayroon po kaming allocation of two evacuation centers at least per province. So magkakaroon po ng additional in addition to the evacuation centers that are already programmed in the budget.
JOYCE BALANCIO/DZMM: So, in total sir, within the year, ilan pong evacuation centers ang target natin?
SEC. VILLAR: Well, by this year we have programmed more than two hundred evacuation centers that we’re targeting to finish. So, madadagdagan pa ‘yan if we get additional budget. But ‘yung iba siguro hindi na rin matatapos sa loob ng isang taon but we’ll do our best to build as many as we can within the year.
JOSEPH MORONG/GMA7: Sir, clarification lang. So, ‘yung five minutes na you said that’s possible within the year end. Quezon City to Makati, saan ‘yung daan niyan?
SEC. VILLAR: Depende, depende. We’ll find a way. Sa Skyway pa lang—kasi the Skyway may exit siya sa Aurora, may exit sa Quezon Ave, may exit sa Buendia, may exit—so, maraming exit. So siguro ‘pag natapos na ‘yung Skyway puwede nating i-Waze and then… tingnan nating kung ano ‘yung best—I cannot predict the exact traffic flow but I’m just saying more or less. I think it’s safe to assume that kung kaya natin ‘yung Balintawak, SLEX to NLEX, in fifteen minutes, kaya din natin ‘yung Makati to Quezon which is Cubao in five minutes more or less.
JOSEPH MORONG/GMA7: Okay, thank you.
TINA MENDEZ/PHILIPPINE STAR: Sir, ‘yung recent development sa Taal ‘yung eruption and everything… the ash fall, may mga maaapektuhan bang projects under the Build, Build, Build, delay? Like ‘yung Lucena o ‘yung mga—
SEC. VILLAR: Hindi naman siguro. Mayroon din kaming mga project sa Taal area pero hindi naman—of course, siyempre ‘yung sa Taal Circumferential ‘yung—may mga projects din kami dun, ‘yung mga widening sa—at this point of course, obviously hindi muna namin puwedeng ituloy. Pero in terms of ‘yung flagship projects, wala namang major effects sa mga flagship projects na pinresent ko kanina.
TINA MENDEZ/PHILIPPINE STAR: Sir, doon sa thirty billion supplemental budget being asked by the Administration to be passed by Congress, how much percentage will be used by the DPWH—
SEC. VILLAR: Hindi pa napa-finalize and I think at this point pinag-uusapan pa rin…pinag-uusapan pa nila ‘yung…kung ano magiging sharing sa thirty billion budget pero siguro sa tingin ko io-augment nila ‘yung…’yung budget sa evacuation centers, at the same time mayroon din kaming quick response fund na puwede ring dagdagan; and of course, the maintenance of mga existing buildings, puwede ring dagdagan ‘yung budget namin doon para makapagresponde kami kaagad sa mga calamities. So, doon po.
But of course, ‘yung budget siyempre pati sa…for assistance to the calamity victims, siguro sa housing; and of course, immediate assistance, puwedeng relief goods. So, hindi pa finalize ‘yung amounts but definitely, lahat ng needs ng ating mga evacuees ay mako-cover ng supplemental budget, and even with the exiting budget mako-cover din. May budget naman
ang DSWD, pati kami may budget din kami sa kalamidad.
JOSEPH MORONG/GMA7: Sir, is your family interested in the water distribution business in Metro Manila?
SEC. VILLAR: Is my family—No!
JOSEPH MORONG/GMA7: No?
SEC. VILLAR: No.
JOSEPH MORONG/GMA7: Kasi, well may mga up for negotiation ‘yung contract. Do you ‘wanna—
SEC. VILLAR: I’m not in any position to answer questions regarding… as I have no involvement so I’m in no position to answer any questions related to that. Thank you.
USEC. ROCKY: Okay. Thank you, MPC! Thank you, Secretary Villar! Thank you, Asec. Lambino.
##
Source: PCOO-NIB (News and Information Bureau-Data Processing Center)
