Politics caused delays of Davao projects intended to ease traffic, says councilor
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 29 Jan) — A city councilor here expressed concerns that crucial infrastructure projects meant to ease traffic congestion are facing unexplained delays and possibly “politicized” by the national government.
In a press conference at the Sangguniang Panlungsod Tuesday morning, Councilor and Majority Floor Leader Jesus Joseph Zozobrado said that some major projects which could ease traffic congestion—such as the High Priority Bus System (HPBS), Mindanao Railway, Davao Coastal Road, Ulas Flyover, and Ma-a Flyover—are either stalled or moving slowly.
This is despite having secured funding from the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), he said.
“This is my assumption. It’s always possible that politics is always there. In every activity or project or program of the government, there’s always politics. The question is, was politics used in the right way?” Zozobrado said.
When asked by reporters whether politics could be a factor in the delays, Zozobrado admitted that it was “always a possibility.”
Zozobrado is apparently referring to the rift between President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte. While they were running mates in their UniTeam during the May 2022 elections, the breakup between the Marcoses and the Dutertes eventually led to the three impeachment cases filed against the Dabawenya vice president, and her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, called to the Senate and the House of Representatives for a series of hearings on his “war on drugs” campaign.
“If ever these projects were continued as scheduled, perhaps we are already halfway, or almost done, and those [traffic] problems will eventually be somehow mitigated,” Zozobrado said.
Zozobrado emphasized that the delay of the HPBS project also delayed the solution to the worsening traffic.
The HPBS’s total project cost of P73.4 billion will be funded by a loan from the ADB, and from national and local budgets.
On July 1, 2023, the Philippine government signed a $1-billion (₱54.89 billion) loan agreement with the ADB for the HPBS.
The national government will fund 38% of the budget, and 2% will come from the city.
The HPBS project, the councilor said, might be one of the solutions to help ease the traffic congestion in the city.
Traffic congestion in Davao City grabbed the limelight lately as it was ranked as the 8th in the world, according to the TomTom Traffic Index of “slowest cities,” even worse than Manila, which was placed at 14th.
Zozobrado pointed out that progress of the HPBS project was doing alright in the early stages. But the national government, “for no concrete reasons,” put things on hold despite approval of the National Economic and Development Authority, the Department of Finance, the DOTr and with the approval of the loan from the ADB.
Councilor Conrado Baluran, chair of the committee on transportation, said TomTom’s traffic index is quite unfair and might be “out of context,” saying that Dabawenyos complain of traffic congestion only during peak hours.
He said the traffic situation in the city may have been the result of a “domino effect” as the city progresses, with ongoing major infrastructure projects like the construction of flyovers and repairs of roads.
“But, as far as I can see, there is a lot of traffic [congestion]. We consider it as a problem but only during peak hours, but maybe one to two hours, nothing compared to Manila or Cebu, where they have traffic congestion all day long,” Baluran said.
In a privileged speech during the city council session last Jan. 21, Baluran invited DOTr and DPWH officials to explain the status of projects under their watch, which Baluran said were among the “contributors” to the traffic congestion.
On Tuesday, Jan. 28, DOTr project evaluation officer Richard Villanueva said HPBS is still a “go” but was “eight months delayed” due to land acquisition and road right-of-way issues.
He added that DOTr will pay landowners before 2025 ends and ensure that all arrangements needed will be good to go.
“We’re still looking at the final designs that will come out, but we already have done pre-construction work. For example, for our terminals and depots that have already been partially paid, we already have done pre-ground investigation, environment impact, and pre-cutting permits [for trees] have already been processed. So these things that need to be done before actual construction commences, we have already started,” Villanueva said.
He said there will be terminals which will be constructed in Toril, Calinan, and Bunawan, and more than 1,000 bus depots or garages.
Nestor Kilian Tabada, DOTr supervising administrative officer, said they will be able to reach their 2026 date of project completion as they expect to have a general consultant to help them achieve their timelines.
Such consultants from ADB will help them structure concession contracts, among other needed documents to “straighten” the project progress, and will arrive between late February and early March.
“The partial operations [of the HPBS] will begin in 2026. In terms of the project plan, your honor, the ramp-up will take at most one year. So we would like to see some routes starting already in 2026 and then all routes within a span of one year,” Tabada said.
As for the Mindanao Railway System, Tabada said that the DOTr Planning Department Office is already initiating the renewal of feasibility studies to get it moving again, which was halted during the pandemic.
Meanwhile, Reese Anthony Marc Pacifico, engineer at the DPWH-Region 11 office, said during the city council session that the construction of the Ma-a flyover is 77 percent reported accomplished, and will be completed by 2026.
However, challenges still persist due to insufficient road right-of-way funding worth ₱200 million and unresolved negotiations with affected landowners and structures, such as Caltex Gas, South Villa subdivision, Alsons property, St. Francis Church, the mosque, and MyGas gas station.
Pacifico added that the obstructing pipelines of the Davao City Water District and posts from telecommunication providers and Davao Light also contributed to the delay, but they are all under negotiation. (Ian Carl Espinosa / MindaNews)
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