- DOTR XI: Davao Public Transport Modernization Project continues
DESPITE the 8-month delay, the Davao Public Transport Modernization Project (DPTMP) or the High Priority Bus System (HPBS) has not been mothballed, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) XI announced on Tuesday, Jan. 28.
“On behalf of the Department of Transportation Project Office and of course the city government of Davao which is the major stakeholder and partner, dayon ta, dayon ta (we will continue),” Richard Villanueva, DOTr XI project evaluator told reporters in a sideline interview during Tuesday’s regular session.
Villanueva added that the eight-month delay is inevitable in a “complicated” project as the HPBS requires larger funding and land acquisition for terminals, depots, and bus stops.
“Dili malikayan nga naa tay delays nga ingana but officially, dayon ta, walay problema. Funds are there, it’s just a matter of processing needed documentary requirements,” he stressed.
DOTR said that the available funding is at P12.544 billion and was released by 2024, in addition to the P294 million from the General Appropriations Act of 2025.
“In terms of funding, we do have funding, and we are able to continue accessing those releases that were made to us in 2024,” Nestor Kilian Tabada, DOTR XI project evaluation officer in a report.
The official shared that when the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) approved the project in 2019, a new feasibility study was developed to see if the existing study before 2019 was still viable.
During the re-study, he added they had found lacking components that need to be addressed including the size of terminals and the package for drivers, among others. As a result, they needed to re-apply and get approval from NEDA.
To note, the formal signing of the USD 1-billion loan agreement between the Department of Finance and the Asian Development Bank for the DPTMP was done at Acacia Hotel on July 1, 2023.
The Davao Bus Project was officially approved by the NEDA Board in February 2023 with a total project cost of Php 73.4 billion, over Php 52 billion of which was loaned from ADB. The city government committed P1.5 billion as a counterpart.
According to the report, the Davao bus project was originally set to start by the end of 2024 and fully operate by the end of 2025.
Trudging along
As of Jan. 27, 2025, the finalization and request for ADB concurrence for the Resettlement Plan (RP) and Resettlement and Indigenous Peoples Plan (RIPP) and processing of payments for negotiated sale are still ongoing.
Three expropriation cases are already filed with the courts, and one case is awaiting release by the Office of the Solicitor General.
For the civil works, the preparation of detailed engineering design (as part of the design phase of design and build contracts), building permit applications, coordination with various agencies, and meetings for design coordination are underway.
In terms of procurement of bus fleets, the request for ADB concurrence to award is ongoing, while Intelligent Transport Systems/Automated Fare Collection is undergoing technical specification modification.
On the other hand, the general consultant who will assist the office in managing the project is finalizing the contract prior to award and is set by the second half of February.
“We have a general consultant that’s coming on board who will help us manage this delay and while we have an estimated timeline, based on the latest estimates, we want to launch this in 2026, hopefully with the general consultant, we can pull this timeline earlier,” Cabada said.
For the bus operations and maintenance, the feasibility of the concessionaire procurement under the Public Private Partnership modality is also ongoing.
Under the social development program, the team has conducted a series of two-day social preparation training for over 5,000 PUJ operators, drivers, and operator-drivers from June to December 2024.
The attendees received personality development, positive life skills, entrepreneurial mindset, financial literacy, gender sensitivity, and employment advisory services. The social preparation training is designed to help the people who will be socially and economically affected by the implementation as mandated in City Ordinance 0736-21.
