For Build, Build, Build: P34B allotted to right of way payments in 2022

By Billy Begas

The national government has allocated some P34 billion for right-of-way (ROW) payments as the Duterte administration lays the groundwork for the sustained construction of large, multiphase public infrastructure projects next year.

Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel said the fund for the ROW payments will assure that several ongoing projects under the Build, Build, Build Program will push through.

Pimentel said the P34 billion is nearly three times the P11.8 billion that the national government is spending for ROW payments this year.

ROW payments are pursuant to Article III, Section 9 of the Constitution, which prohibits the taking of private property by the government for public use without just compensation to the owner, said Pimentel.

ROW expenses are authorized under the Right-of-Way Act (Republic Act 10752).

Under the proposed P5.024-trillion budget for 2022, Pimentel said the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has P21.3 billion for ROW acquisition, while the Department of Transportation (DOTr) has P12.7 billion for the same purpose.

Pimentel said the DPWH’s ROW payments are meant to pave the way for the construction of new roads, flyovers and bridges, such as the 74-kilometer Metro Cebu Expressway Project and the 8.2-kilometer 4th Cebu-Mactan Bridge and Coastal Road Project.

He said the bulk of the DOTr’s ROW payments will go to property owners affected by the 147-kilometer North-South Commuter Railway Project from Calamba, Laguna to New Clark City in Capas, Tarlac; the 639-kilometer Philippine National Railways South Long Haul Project from Manila to Legazpi City; and the 25-hectare New Cebu International Container Port Project in the Municipality of Consolacion.

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Source: Latest Politics News Today (Politics.com.ph)