MANILA – Jaime Bautista, the Secretary of the Department of Transportation (DOTr), announced on Tuesday that the budget reductions for 2025 will only slightly affect the department’s 16 critical infrastructure projects. Despite some cuts in funding from foreign-assisted projects, Bautista confirmed that the DOTr can still finance its flagship transport initiatives using loan funds.
During a press briefing at the Palace, Bautista downplayed the impact of the budget cuts, stating, “It has a very minor effect.” He explained that the reductions primarily affected loan proceeds for foreign-assisted projects, yet these funds remain accessible to support major projects like the Metro Manila Subway and the North-South Commuter Railway.
At the first full Cabinet meeting led by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. at Malacañan Palace, discussions focused on the delays in implementing these infrastructure flagship projects (IFPs). Bautista highlighted several challenges causing these delays, including property acquisition, right-of-way issues, funding, the relocation of informal settler families, utility relocations, and property registration.
President Marcos instructed the DOTr and other relevant government agencies to collaborate closely to ensure the completion of these flagship transport projects by the end of his term in 2028. To address the significant issue of right-of-way, an inter-agency committee has been established, comprising the DOTr, the Department of Public Works and Highways, the Department of Justice, the Office of the Solicitor General, and the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development.
Bautista emphasized the President’s directive to coordinate with all government agencies to resolve these issues. He noted that the Office of the Solicitor General would play a crucial role, particularly in pursuing expropriation cases to secure necessary properties for project implementation.
Key DOTr projects include the North-South Commuter Railway, the Metro Manila Subway Project, MRT Lines 4 and 7, LRT Line 1 Cavite Extension, the New Cebu International Container Port, the PNR South Long Haul, the Mindanao Railway, and the New Dumaguete Airport Development. Despite the challenges, Bautista expressed optimism about meeting the project timelines, asserting that the election ban would not impede the progress of these infrastructure initiatives.