President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has ordered the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to swiftly resolve persistent right-of-way bottlenecks holding up the completion of the Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT-1) Cavite Extension project, emphasizing that the public should no longer endure commuting setbacks.
During a Malacañang press briefing on Thursday, June 25, Communications Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro announced that the President directed Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez to clear the right-of-way hurdles immediately, particularly those affecting the proposed Las Piñas Station.
“Nais ni Pangulong Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. na matapos ang LRT-1 Cavite Extension para sa ikagiginhawa nang mas maraming mananakay,” Castro said.
“Matagal na nakabinbin ang nasabing proyekto at hindi dapat ang taumbayan ang magdurusa sa pag-delay nito dahil lamang sa usapin ng right-of-way,” she added.
Castro highlighted that the Chief Executive is pushing for a swift conclusion to the infrastructure development to bring urgent convenience to daily commuters.
“Mabilisang pagtatapos ng proyekto ang nais ng Pangulo para sa ikagiginhawa ng taumbayan,” she said.
Once finished, the ₱64.9-billion mass transit extension will push the current railway network further into Cavite and southern Metro Manila, drastically cutting daily travel times for hundreds of thousands of passengers.
The Palace noted that the initiative is a collaborative public-private partnership backed by the Philippine government, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and private operator Light Rail Manila Corporation (LRMC), with funding sourced from private sector investments and Japanese official development assistance.