After decades of delay, Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon’s commitment to complete the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) is not without urgency.
Dizon said the government is racing to finish segments of the 147-kilometer line, particularly the stretch from Metro Manila to Malolos and Clark before President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. steps down.
The portion from Manila to Clark is now “a little over 50 percent” complete, he said.
“We are confident we can run Manila to Malolos by the end of 2026 or early 2027, and we’re targeting Clark before the end of the President’s term,” he added.
The NSCR, co-financed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), aims to link Calamba, Laguna to Clark, Pampanga, cutting travel time to under two hours and serving up to 800,000 passengers daily.
With Metro Manila perennially grappling with crippling traffic congestion, the need for a modern, efficient, and interconnected rail network became apparent.
However, the road to realization was far from smooth. It was characterized by funding hurdles and geopolitical considerations that threatened to derail its progress.
The NSCR, divided into three phases, began to take shape. Tangible progress is evident, particularly in the Bulacan section, where several stations are nearing completion.
The stumbling block to the project is the intricate web of informal settler communities along its route.
With an estimated 13,000 illegal structures, balancing the legal mandate with humanitarian consideration is formidable.
Reports of resistance from barangay officials, impeding survey and construction efforts in some areas, complicated matters further. Such challenges underscored the imperative of fostering meaningful dialogue and collaboration at the grassroots level, recognizing the importance of community engagement in driving sustainable development initiatives.
Under existing laws, the owner of each structure must be notified, consulted, relocated, compensated, and given financial assistance and livelihood. This long and tedious process is further complicated by the lack of cooperation and outright obstruction by some barangay executives.
The good news is that the DoTr has secured the support of key local government executives.
With the cooperation of previously obstructive barangay officials, phase two of the NSCR is progressing.
This situation highlights an irony: the NSCR, which initially faced resistance from informal settlers, may ultimately offer a solution to the problem of urban migration that fuels the proliferation of informal settlements.