The Private Sector Advisory Council (PSAC) Infrastructure Sector has proposed the creation of a Right-of-Way (ROW) office under the Office of the President to accelerate infrastructure projects under the Marcos administration’s Build Better More initiative.

PSAC Infrastructure Sector said on Friday that lead-convenor Sabin Aboitiz, who also sits as president and CEO of Aboitiz Equity Ventures, raised the recommendation during a 20 March meeting with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

The proposal seeks to streamline land acquisition by designating dedicated lawyers for ROW cases in priority sectors such as transportation, energy, telecommunications and water.

To ensure funding continuity, the council recommended using a portion of the Motor Vehicle Users Charge for land purchases and reinstating a multi-year obligation allocation to secure long-term ROW financing. 

It also urged the Department of Budget and Management and the Public-Private Partnership Center to align ROW budget planning with national projects to minimize delays.

Usual cause of delay

“The ROW Office, certainly I think that we have to do it. We have to do something as this is something that always comes up and the main reason why we are always delayed and we have added cost,” Marcos was quoted as saying in the PSAC statement.