Palafox says Duterte right for predicting ‘dead’ Metro Manila by 2042

A well-respected figure in urban planning and architecture said on Friday that President Rodrigo Duterte was right to predict a "dead" Metro Manila by 2042, or in 25 years' time.

In an interview on Super Radyo dzBB, architect Jun Palafox not only agreed with the President but also said that Metro Manila's deterioration has actually begun.

"It's happening now. In 1976 I worked with the World Bank... for Metro Manila. What we said then, Metro Plan Manila, it was one of the best metro plans in the world. Kaya ako nakilala overseas," said Palafox, founder of the architecture firm Palafox Associates and has lent his expertise in 38 countries.

"We said that time, with the do-nothing scenario, we will have catastrophic traffic, catastrophic planning, lack of decent housing. And what do we have now?" he added.

He said Metro Manila should have completed eight train lines by 1992, but lamented how in the past six years, only 4 kilometers of roads had been built.

On Thursday, Duterte pitched for the development of more cities in the Philippines, saying Metro Manila will be a dead "city" in 25 years.

"Manila I think will be in about 25 years, will be a dead city. It will start to decay and there is way that we can rehab the place," he added. Metro Manila is a region, which includes the Philippine capital and city of Manila.

On Friday, Palafox also expressed dismay at the cutting down of thousands of hundred-year-old trees along McArthur Highway, which he pointed out was vital in providing fresh air amid the pollution in the city.

Palafox slammed the government for disregarding his suggestions, only to plagiarize his ideas once disaster strikes.

"Sa bayan natin, magpropose ako, iniinsulto pa ko na alarmist daw ako, hungry for publicity. Then kapag disaster na, they plagiarize my recommendation," he said.

He added that corruption remained to be one of the main problems beleaguering the country.

"Pag walang korupsyon, we are number 16th economy in the world. Kung walang korupsyon," he said.

However, Palafox remained optimistic that the city could still be salvaged, citing as models the masterplans for cities such as Davao and Clark which had been winning in competitions.

"Nanalo kami ng competition, Metro Davao, zero corruption. Nanalo rin kami ng masterplan ng Clark, zero corruption. So pwede pala magkaroon ng government project, zero corruption," he said. — MDM, GMA News

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/635901/palafox-says-duterte-right-for-predicting-dead-metro-manila-by-2042/story/

Poe backs ‘outward development’ to save Metro Manila

Senator Grace Poe said on Friday that the government should seriously consider outward development in order to decongest overcrowded Metro Manila.

She made this remark after President Duterte declared that the metropolis may become a dead city in 25 years.

“Metro Manila may have no future if we do not act now,” Poe said in a statement.

“(W)e should seriously consider and push for outward development to decongest Metro Manila for the medium to long term but right now we have to jumpstart that initiative,” Poe said.

For the government to achieve this, political will and emergency powers would be needed should President Duterte would certify the matter as urgent, according to Poe.

“For this, political will is needed and the emergency powers could come in handy if only the President would certify this as urgent,” she said.

On Thursday, Duterte lamented the traffic situation in Metro Manila, suggesting that investors should consider developing industrial areas outside the National Capital Region.

“Manila, I think will be in about 25 years… be dead city. It will start to decay and there is no way that we can rehab the place,” he said in a speech in Pampanga.

But Poe was optimistic that the Duterte administration’s P8-trillion “Build Build Build” infrastructure program would improve Metro Manila’s perennial traffic problem.

“Perhaps with the ‘Build, Build, Build’ projects of President Duterte like the Mega Manila subway, the completion of NLEX, SLEX, etc., we can see a marked improvement in the near future,” she said. /kga

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DOTr to Sign MOA for Resettlement of 100,000 Informal Settler Families Along PNR South Project

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) is set to sign a memorandum of agreement (MOA) today, 8 December 2017, for the resettlement of around 100,000 informal settler families (ISFs) who would be affected by the North-South Railway Project (NSRP) slated to start early next year.

DOTr Secretary Arthur Tugade, together with officials of the Philippine National Raiways (PNR), would ink the MOA with Presidential Commission on Urban Poor (PCUP) Chairperson James Mark Terry Ridon, National Housing Authority (NHA) General Manager Marcelino Escalada Jr., Social Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC) President Arnolfo Ricardo Cabling, and Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) Chairman Eduardo del Rosario.

The NSRP, also known as the PNR South Long Haul, is a 653-kilometer railway project that will run from Manila to Laguna, Batangas, Bicol, and Sorsogon.

The railway project for commuter and freight system will provide interconnectivity and better alternative mode of transport from Manila to Bicol Region and vice versa. Its construction will start in 2018.

Under the MOA, government agencies will agree to perform the resettlement activities and social preparation, providing the ISFs affected by the railway project with affordable housing programs.

In November 15, 2017, Secretary Tugade, along with other Cabinet Secretaries, joined President Rodrigo Roa Duterte and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang during the signing of 14 agreements, following the expanded bilateral meeting between the two countries.

One of the signed agreements was the Memorandum of Understanding on Jointly Promoting the PNR South Long Haul Project Cooperation between DOTr and the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China.

The PNR South Long Haul is expected to be operational by 2nd quarter of 2022.

Based on recent changes, its Commuter Line segment which spans 72 kilometers with 23 stations, will now start from Solis-Hermosa in Manila to Los Baños, Laguna.

Meanwhile, the Long Haul segment will start from Los Banos and will run through Batangas, Quezon and the Bicol provinces of Camarines Sur and Albay to Sorsogon.####DOTrPH

North-South Railway project advances as DOTr awards consulting contract

The Department of Transportation (DOTR) takes a major step towards the construction of the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) project (Malolos-Tutuban) through the awarding of the consulting contract to Japanese consortium led by Oriental Consultants Global, as part of its ongoing efforts to improve the transport system within and beyond Metro Manila.

The official contract-signing ceremony took place recently at DOTr’s Clark main office, Angeles City, witnessed by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

The 37.6-kilometer NSCR will be the Philippines’ new elevated railway expected to help reduce travel time from Malolos City, Bulacan to Tutuban, Manila from 2 hours to 35 minutes and allow economic activities to spread out to the surrounding areas of Metro Manila. Aside from this, the NSCR will use advanced Japanese technologies including seismic designs from Japan to make the infrastructure disaster-resilient.

The NSCR project is being assisted by Japan’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) loan to the Philippines amounting to 241.991 billion yen signed in November 2015. It is considered as a flagship project to help advance the Philippine government’s “Build, Build, Build” program which aims at tapping infrastructure investment for socio-economic development.

“JICA has consistently supported transport infrastructure development in the Philippines since the 1960s. The NSCR project will be the game changer by kick-starting the large-scale investment by the current administration through building a modern railway network for achieving the twin goals of addressing the serious traffic congestion in Metro Manila and enhancing the connectivity of Metro Manila and its nearby areas, thus expanding Manila’s economic sphere,” said JICA Philippines Senior Representative Tetsuya Yamada at the signing ceremony.

According to Yamada, in addition to the NSCR project, JICA is currently extending support in conducting feasibility studies and detailed design studies for railway services extending the NSCR to both Northand South, Malolos to Clark and Solis to Los Baños, respectively.

The NSCR is part of the cooperation agenda identified between Japan and the Philippines during the first Philippines-Japan Joint Committee on Infrastructure Development and Economic Cooperation meeting in Japan early this year.

Prior to that, the Philippine government has approved the Roadmap for Transport Infrastructure Development for Metro Manila and its Surrounding Areas in 2014. Under the roadmap, the creation of two mass transit systems penetrating Metro Manila from North to South, namely the NSCR and the Metro Manila Subway project, for which JICA has also committed its loan in November this year,  is eyed to alleviate overconcentration in Metro Manila by improving its connectivity to the suburbs.

Although Metro Manila accounts for 36% of the country’s GDP with population density of 19,137 people for every square kilometer, according to the above Roadmap study, it has only three elevated railway lines with a total length of about 50 kilometers operating.

The NSCR project is therefore expected to help establish a transport corridor connecting Metro Manila to its north and south, while giving options to commuters, and contributing to the country’s economic competitiveness in the long term.