VICE PRESIDENT Sara Duterte expressed disappointment over the halted Mindanao Railway Project after it was zeroed out by the current national budget.
Duterte said she decided to run as vice president in 2022 in hopes of continuing the “Build Build Build” program by her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte.
“Masakit sa loob ko (It pains me because I ran on a platform of continuity and unity, particularly on the ‘Build, Build, Build’ program of the previous administration of President Duterte),” Duterte said in an interview with the media in Butuan City on Wednesday, Nov. 20.
“It’s not just the Mindanao Railway that has been unfunded. There are other Philippine government obligations and projects that remain unfunded until now,” she added.
“It saddens me because these projects would have been of great help not just to Mindanao but to the entire country.”
Phase 1 of the project has a length of 100.2 kilometers with over eight stations and an estimated project cost of P81.6 billion. The Mindanao Railway was originally set to begin construction for its phase 1 or Tagum-Davao-Digos segment in January 2019.
On Sept. 22, 2023, then-Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno sent a letter to Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian informing him that the country would no longer pursue loan financing for the Mindanao Railway Project (MRP) from China.
In a previous report, Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista confirmed during the German-Philippine Chambers of Commerce and Industry forum in October 2023, saying that the agency dropped the Chinese official development assistance as a funding source for the MRP and two other railway projects as the negotiations had “no development.”
Bautista later said the DOTr was also overhauling the entire project to prioritize the development of a modern and environmentally friendly railway system in the southern Philippines.
“We remain hopeful that these ‘Build, Build, Build’ big-ticket projects will still push through,” the vice president further said.
Screenshot photo of Rhoda Grace B Saron
