MANILA, Philippines — The government has raised the proposed budget for right-of-way (ROW) acquisitions for fiscal year 2020 to address bottlenecks that may hinder the speedy implementation of infrastructure projects, according to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).

Based on data from the proposed 2020 National Expenditure Program (NEP), the government’s proposed allocation for right-of-way acquisitions in 2020 surged by 161.92 percent to P63.15 billion from P24.11 billion this year.

“Budget provision is based on the multi-year requirement per project submitted by the agency. We (DBM) are basically following their funding strategies,” Budget Undersecretary Laura Pascua said.

According to the NEP, the bulk or P44.2 billion of the amount is lodged under the Department of Public Works and Highway (DPWH) ’s budget, about four times larger than the agency’s P10.85 billion budget for ROW acquisitions in the current fiscal year.

The amount covers ROW payments for the Metro Manila Expressway Project, C-5 South Link Project, South Luzon Expressway Toll Road 4, South Luzon Toll Expressway Project, Manila Cavite Toll Expressway Project, R-1 Enhancement Project, Metro Cebu Expressway, and the access road leading to the North-South Commuter Railway stations in Metro Manila and Central Luzon, among others.

Meanwhile, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) is also proposing a budget of P18.95 billion for ROW acquisitions next year, 42.91 percent up from P13.26 billion under the 2019 General Appropriations Act.

This covers projects, including the Mindanao Railway Project, Kalibo International Airport, Roxas Airport, Dumaguete Airport, Calbayog Airport, Ipil Airport, Zamboanga Airport, Mati Airport, M’Lang Airport, North-South Commuter Railway System, Metro Manila Subway Project, Philippine National Railways South Long Haul Project, and the New Cebu International Container Port Project.

According to Pascua, the higher budget for ROW acquisition is seen to help address delays in the implementation of infrastructure projects.

She said the DBM also provides reminders to infrastructure agencies to resolve right-of-way issues first before doing civil works.

“The ROWA law should have helped fix processes,” Pascua said, referring to Republic Act 10752, which was enacted in 2016.

The law seeks to facilitate the acquisition of ROW site or location for national government infrastructure projects.

Last year, the government created an inter-agency team which will focus on addressing bottlenecks in the implementation of the administration’s Build Build Build program, including right-of-way issues.

This project facilitation team is comprised of officials from the DBM, Department of Finance, DPWH, DOTr, and the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).

By Mary Grace Padin
Published in PhilStar Sept 16. 2019