Mindanao Railway Phase 1 now P83 billion 

REUEL JOHN F. LUMAWAG

July 15, 2019

FOLLOWING the approval of the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Board's Investment Coordination Committee-Cabinet Committee (ICC-CabCom) on July 10, 2019, the cost for the Mindanao Railway Project Phase 1-Tagum-Davao-Digos Segment (MRP-TDD) has been increased to P82.9 billion.

The project was earlier pegged at P35.9 billion in 2017. In a statement, Neda said the P82.9 billion will cover changes in the cost of structural and construction works, among others.


In terms of scope, the ICC-CabCom also approved the additional Davao Satellite Depot of the MRP-TDD.

"We welcome the approval of the Neda ICC Cabinet Committee of the earlier proposal for the Mindanao Railway project (MRP) Tagum-Davao-Digos Phase 1," said Nathaniel D. Dalumpines, Mindanao Development Authority (Minda) officer-in-charge.

The budget for the single-track, diesel-powered railway system is divided into P80.887 billion for the single-track and a P2.037 billion for the depot.

"This crucial approval also practically more than doubled the project cost for the first-ever railway project in Mindanao, a major connectivity undertaking which has long been desired for decades but is only seeing realization under the Duterte administration," Dalumpines said.

According to the Department of Transportation (DOTr), the 102-km MRP-TDD segment will cut travel time from Tagum City, Davao del Norte to Digos City, Davao del Sur to 1.3 hours from 3.5 hours.

The MRP-TDD will have eight stations -- Tagum, Carmen, Panabo, Mudiang, Davao Terminal, Toril, Sta. Cruz, and Digos. A 10-hectare depot will be built in Tagum.

Last year, the MRP-TDD had issues with the path the rails will traverse in Davao City. DOTr earlier reported that 23 barangays and 10 subdivisions will be affected by the project. Properties of some big firms were also affected.

The DOTr has already come up with realignments to avoid the properties and developments.

In a fact sheet provided by Minda, the Mindanao-wide MRP is seen to enhance the economy as it provides better inter-island connectivity.

Implemented by DOTr, the Mindanao-wide project will have nine segments with a total length of 1,400.46 kilometers railway system. There will be six main stations across the island.

Furniture shop rises from DSWD's cash assistance

By Wilnard Bacelonia

It all started when Task Force Bangon Marawi (TFBM) chairperson and Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) Secretary Eduardo del Rosario announced during the interagency consultation-dialogue last March 18 at Lanao del Sur Provincial Gymnasium that the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) was about to provide the Kathanor-registered Marawi internally displaced persons (IDPs) with P73 thousand worth of cash assistance.

Tanggute Dimangadap, 26, who at the time was temporarily staying at the Bakwit Village in Matungao town, Lanao del Norte with his wife, Jamilah, and three children, felt excited to hear the good news.

Because his village was last to receive the Livelihood Settlement Grant (LSG) of P20 thousand and Transitory Family Support Package (TFSP) of P53 thousand, Tanggute saw how his fellow IDPs spent the money after receiving it. Then, he told his wife: “If I will receive it, I will plan how to spend it.”

Working at a furniture shop

Tanggute was working before the Marawi siege at a furniture shop owned by his family in Wawalayan Marinaut, a small village at the southern part of the most affected area (MAA) or ground zero. So, after receiving the DSWD’s cash assistance, he and Jamilah decided to have their own furniture shop.

“I don’t want my family to live in Bakwit village anymore. We can’t just depend on relief assistance forever. We need to pursue this because this is our dream,” he told the Philippine Information Agency (PIA).

He bought a wood slicer machine, three plainer machines, other furniture tools and rented a place in Matampay, Marawi City which also became his family’s new home.

“To my fellow IDPs who have received DSWD’s cash assistance, spend it wisely. Don’t spend it in a shopping spree because your family will suffer,” he said.

Project Development Officer Jamila Taha of DSWD-10 said of Tanggute’s story: “We are expecting that the cash assistance we are giving the Marawi siege victims will be used for their business and other means for them to rise back on their feet again. We are happy to hear and see how they wisely spend the cash assistance they have received. We are more inspired to be better public servants when we hear these kind of stories.”
As of this writing, the DSWD is still waiting for TFBM Field Office’s endorsement of the new list of Kathanor registrants before it can start with the second round of cash assistance distribution to legitimate homeowners from Marawi’s MAA. (WLBacelonia/PIA-ICCC)

Agdao Market Demolition

A worker cuts the steel trusses of the old building inside the Agdao Market on Monday (8 July, 2019) to pave the way for the construction of a new market facility