Tugade runs DOTr at top speed
“I'm not running a popularity contest here,” Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Arthur Tugade declared, shortly before his 74th birthday today, January 9.
“They know me as a son of a bitch and I'm willing to remain as (such) for this department and for this country,” Tugade, a stickler for deadlines on state infrastructure projects, as always, added.
This 2020, the year of the Metal Rat, with just a couple of years left under the Duterte administration, he committed to complete more projects and fast-track everything, "undaunted, ready to confront any challenge". The DOTr is working, at top speed, to deliver projects and programs that Filipinos have been waiting for decades, without sacrificing quality, he reiterated.
Just before 2019 ended, economic managers approved a handful of DOTr's big-ticket initiatives, among a dozen infrastructure ventures worth over P626 billion. These include the unsolicited proposal for the P48.9-billion modernization of the Davao International Airport, the P59.3-billion Metro Rail Transit Line 4 (MRT-4), the P45.8-billion unsolicited Operate-Add-Transfer (OAT) Proposal for the Laguindingan Airport, the EDSA Greenways Project and the Maritime Safety Enhancement Program (MSEP).
By middle of last year, the DOTr had completed 61 airport projects nationwide, with 100 more ongoing. Together with the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), the agency built two international airports, including the country's first eco-airport, the Bohol-Panglao International Airport. They also built a new world-class passenger terminal building for the Mactan-Cebu Interplete national Airport.
They improved international airports in Davao, General Santos, Zamboanga, Iloilo, Kalibo, and Laoag. They are also constructing the second Passenger Terminal Building (PTB) of Clark International Airport and planning an additional runway.
The DOTr met its November, 2019 deadline for the start of general aviation and turboprop operations at the Sangley Airport in Cavite by working on the project 24/7.
In the same time span, the construction of the Bicol International Airport is more than halfway comalthough the groundbreaking for the P734-billion New Manila International Airport in Bulacan has been delayed. Ormoc Airport has renovated its PTB and widened its runway "after years of neglect".
A total of 21 commercial airports have achieved night ratings and nine airports have been awarded with On-Time Performance (OTP) star ratings.
In the railway sector, the DOTr started the construction of four railway projects and continued two more.
The railway projects include the Philippine National Railways (PNR) Clark Phase 1, the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 1 Cavite Extension, the Common Station and the Metro Manila Subway.
The DOTr also continued two more railway projects that began during the previous administration – the Metro Rail Transit Line 7 and the LRT Line 2 East Extension.
Already, the Metro Manila Subway has broken ground, the MRT 7 is nearly halfway complete and the MRT 3 rehabilitation has started. The LRT1 Cavite Extension has started construction after two decades of delay and the LRT2 East Extension will be completed before the end of 2020.
The PNR Clark Phase 1 is now on full-blast construction with the procurement of new train sets underway. The PNR Bicol and Mindanao Railway projects will start construction soon.
In the maritime sector, the DOTr has built and started operations of one land port and completed 218 commercial and social/tourism port projects.
However, "little did we know that the initial optimism that we earlier had for allowing motorcycle taxis to operate in the country will turn into utter disappointment, no less than from the program’s original partner: Angkas,” Tugade lamented.
"As the trial run ends, the Technical Working Group (TWG) in charge of the implementation of the program had decided to further extend the government’s study on the motorcycle ride-hailing service until March 2020. This extension will allow more players to take part in the study, which aims to determine whether or not motorcycle taxis are feasible and safe as public transportation options.
"It is quite unfortunate that while the TWG is in the midst of creating a level playing field for motorcycle taxis, Angkas has resorted to emotional blackmail in its attempt to cement its foothold and monopoly in the transport service," he lamented. "It will not help if Angkas chooses to lock horns with the government and throw false allegations against the TWG in these times when transport solutions are needed most."
He appealed to the Angkas team: "Improve your service. Invest in providing vests, helmets, and safety gear for your riders and passengers rather than sowing skepticism and paranoia. We have but one goal: to serve the Filipinos in the best way possible."