Advance payment for TPLEX-related acquisitions

San Miguel Corp., through its Private Infra Development Corp. (PIDC), said it will advance the payment for the unpaid portion of properties acquired by the government as part of the construction of the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEX).

Our wish is for the situation to be remedied as soon as possible. We will advance the payment for the government. We understand the plight of the landowners, and also recognize the position of the government

Landowners earlier complained the government has yet to fully pay them for their properties.

Government said a large part of the problem stems from incomplete documents submitted by claimants, resulting in delays in the review and payment process.

“Our wish is for the situation to be remedied as soon as possible. We will advance the payment for the government. We understand the plight of the landowners and also recognize the position of the government. But we would like to assure them that we are ready to resolve this issue and expedite payment,” said SMC president and chief operating officer Ramon S. Ang.

Ang said SMC is working with the government, through the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to quickly resolve all issues and help them deliver on their commitment so that claimants are finally compensated.

For some time now, the landowners, whose properties were acquired from 2015 to 2017, had been demanding full payment from the government agency.

Initially, and as mandated by road right of way acquisition law, they received partial payment for their properties, including full payment for any structure, tree or crops.

This payment was advanced by PIDC to pave the way for the infrastructure project’s construction.

However, the process of fully acquiring the land has taken longer.

As mandated by law, an independent appraiser, the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), undertook a valuation survey and completed this in June 2017.

Immediately after, the DPWH was supposed to send letter offers (LO) to purchase the land at the appraised value. The agency was able to fully accomplish this by March 2018.

At present, it is reviewing claimants’ documents to ensure their completeness. But this has proven daunting as many claimants are said to have incomplete documents.

Last week, a number of landowners staged a protest at the Pozzorubio exit of the TPLEX to vent their ire. It was agreed that DPWH would pay claimants with complete documents within a month’s time.