Lawmaker says Palace assured completion of Bicol rail project
MALACAÑANG has given fresh assurances that President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. will complete the Bicol railway as part of his commitment to finish “all ongoing rail projects,” saying the transport undertaking will serve as the backbone of the “Bicol-waray-southern Tagalog” economic axis, a leader of the House of Representatives said.
House Committee on Ways and Means Chairman Joey Sarte Salceda said Executive Secretary Victor Rodriguez assured him President Marcos intends to proceed with construction of the Bicol Railway as he stated in his State of the Nation Address (SONA).
“The Bicol Railway will change the game for our industries in the Pacific Seaboard. It will also be the closest thing to connecting the Speaker’s home region to Luzon via rail,” Salceda said.
“Albay is the most densely populated province in the whole Pacific Seaboard. It also hosts the Bicol International Airport, which can actually service Regions 8 and Mimaropa; and Region 8 is the economic catch-up region of the Visayas. If we can connect Manila, Albay, and the Waray Region together through a network of transport infrastructure backboned by rail, we can accelerate development and economic interconnectivity between these regions,” he added.
Salceda also affirmed Marcos’s statement that “rail is the cheapest way to transport cargo and passengers.”
“I clarified with ES Rodriguez whether Bicol Railway is still a priority for PBBM, and he says that yes, it is covered by his commitment to all ongoing railway projects,” he added.
“The issue is just that financing negotiations are still ongoing, so it was much better to emphasize during the SONA projects that can already be undertaken with ready funding.”
According to Salceda, the Chinese investor for the project appears to be back to the negotiating table on Bicol Railway financing.
“If they reiterate their offer of 3 percent per annum, in this inflationary global environment, that’s good enough. I am also working on alternative financing to strengthen our negotiating position and help PBBM,” he added.
Salceda said that the construction and completion of the Bicol railway would be crucial not just for the Bicol region but also for nearby provinces, such as Samar and Leyte.