The government is fast-tracking the completion of eight priority railway projects in Metro Manila and outlying provinces to provide an alternative, affordable, efficient and environment-friendly mode of transportation to the commuting public, according to Presidential Management Staff (PMS) Director General Cerge Remonde.

In his weekly press conference in Malacaņang this morning, Remonde said the bulk of the projects involves the interconnection, improvement, upgrading and extension of the mass transport system in Metro Manila (Light Rail Transit 1, LRT 2, and Metro Rail Transit 3) and the Northrail and Southrail systems and will cost US$4.23 billion or about P202.8 billion.

Remonde said that when the projects are completed, the provinces of Bulacan and Pampanga in the north and Laguna, Quezon and Bicol in the south will be easily accessible to anyone from Metro Manila via the Northrail and its interconnections with the Southrail and LRT and MRT systems.

"These priority railway projects will cut travel time, reduce travel and transport cost, abate traffic and air pollution, attract investments and stimulate overall countryside growth," Remonde said.

Aside from this, the PMS chief said the railway projects "shall promote ease in mobility of passengers, encouraging both local and foreign tourists to travel around the country."

"Railway transport shall likewise encourage the development of areas outside Metro Manila like Subic and Clark in Central Luzon; Cavite, Laguna, and Quezon in Region IV-A; and Albay and Sorsogon in the Bicol region. Ease of mobility and our growing information and communication infrastructures will encourage investors to set up business operations outside Metro Manila where office spaces for back-end operations are still available," Remonde said.

He explained that seven of the railway projects are in the Luzon Urban Beltway and include five new lines namely:

• Northrail from Caloocan to the Clark Freeport Zone in Pampanga, a double-track at grade and elevated carriageway, utilizing diesel-powered locomotives or rolling stocks.

• Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 1 North Extension, a 5.4-kilometer elevated line from LRT 1 in Monumento, Caloocan to Metro Rail Transit (MRT) 3 in North Avenue, Quezon City station.
• LRT Line 1 South Extension, from Baclaran station to Bacoor, Cavite, a length of 11.7 kms. with eight stations, with an option for two additional stations.

• LRT Line 1 Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) connector from Baclaran station to NAIA, a 6.2-km. extension with four single track passenger stations. This will serve around 40,000 passengers per day during the initial year of operation, and puts the country’s premier airport at par with other international airports served by commuter trains.

• MRT 7 from Tala, Caloocan City to MRT 3 North Avenue Station, a combined 23-km. MRT and 22-km. road access from the Marilao exit of the North Luzon Expressway. The MRT commences at Tala, passes through Lagro/Fairview along Quirino Avenue in Novaliches, then along Commonwealth Avenue up to the North Avenue-MRT 3 station. It also provides for an elevated rail connection to LRT 2 at the Katipunan-Aurora Blvd. section.

In addition, the existing Southrail will be extended from Albay to Sorsogon (Southrail Phase II), a 112-km. new railway line.

The three existing railways to be rehabilitated are:

• The Northrail-Southrail linkage from Caloocan to Calamba City, Laguna.

• The Southrail Project Phase 1-A from Calamba, Laguna to Lucena City, Quezon.

• The Southrail Project Phase 1-B from Lucena City, Quezon to Legazpi City, Albay.

Remonde said Phase 1-A of the Southrail Project is set to be completed in December 2009. The Northrail from Caloocan to Clark and the Northrail-Southrail Linkage Phases 1 and 2 will be finished in 2010.

The LRT Line 1 South Extension and MRT 7 are both slated for completion in 2011, and the Southrail Project Phases 1-B and 2 from Lucena to Sorsogon in 2013.

These eight priority railway projects will be funded from national government appropriations, official development assistance, corporate funds of government-owned and controlled corporations, and private sector investments, Remonde said.

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A flourish of fresh and favorable outlooks on the Philippine economy marked by lower interest and inflation rates has resulted in renewed investor confidence and a stronger peso, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said today.

In a roundtable discussion with National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Director General Romulo Neri, one of her most trusted economic managers, the President said this flourish was brought about by the "tough decisions" to implement radical fiscal reforms, most notably the Expanded Value Added Tax (E-VAT) Law.

The EVAT Law increased the rate of VAT imposed on goods and services from the previous 10 percent to 12 percent.

It also imposed VAT on other high impact luxury and previously VAT-exempt goods such as fuel and Sport Utility Vehicles, more commonly known as SUVs.

Because of the E-VAT Law, the President said, the government was able to raise important cash resources that were used to fund vital infrastructure, health and education projects without the need of external borrowing from financial institutions.

The government was also able to provide "soft loans" to Filipino entrepreneurs who availed themselves of the grants given to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to put up their own businesses.

All these activities did not go unnoticed as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecast recently that the Philippines' economic growth would be "higher than average" among its neighboring countries.

Even the World Bank, in its twice-a-year Philippine economic monitor report, had predicted three consecutive years of economic growth, a first for the country and the region since 1970.

Neri pointed out that because of these positive indicators, investor confidence on the country had picked up.

He reported that for the first quarter of 2007, the Board of Investments had recorded a 51 percent increase in foreign investments, resulting in a P28-billion influx of fresh investments.

He said these investments were mainly concentrated in the areas of the electronics sector, call centers and hotels and resorts.

He added that the lending activities of banks have increased by 10 percent due to the low interest rates on their loans, making it palatable to the prospective borrowers and investors.

Furthermore, inflation is at its lowest in 10 years at 2.2 percent, making borrowing from banks more appealing, according to Neri.

This trend in borrowing, he said, will translate to more jobs as more entrepreneurs put up their own businesses.

The President thanked the SMEs and encouraged those planning to put up their own business to partake of the flourishing economy.

"Ako'y nagpapasalamat sa mga nagpo-produce ng kayamanan ng ating bansa, maging large, medium, small or micro-enterprise, yung mga nagtra-trabaho, yung mga naglilingkod sa taong bayan," she said.

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President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo visited another barangay close to Malacanang today, and instructed the barangay officials to locate an open space on which to build medium-rise housing units where their squatter residents could transfer.

The President issued the instructions when told that some 300 structures which house some 1,000 families with up to 10 children each are crowding around a dried-up estero (estuary) in Barangay 410, Zone 42 in the vicinity of Arellano University near Legarda St. and Magsaysay Blvd. in Sampaloc.

She was informed by Barangay 410 Chairperson Victoria Aldaba that most of the barangay council members are residents along the now muddy Estero de Sampaloc which traverses the barangay.

Most of the barangay residents live as vendors, tricycle drivers, and home-based makers of "pamaypay."

Informed by Francisco Alican, a representative of the National Housing Authority (NHA), that the NHA has a housing project in Calauan, Laguna for interested relocatees, the President instructed Alican to start with volunteers.

"Umpisahan natin sa mga volunteers," the President said.

Alican said the NHA is currently conducting a census to check on the "willingness" of squatters in the area to be relocated to Calauan, Laguna.

Meanwhile, a grotto near the entrance of the barangay hall has been the site of ongoing "everyday prayers offered (by the residents) for the speedy recovery" of First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo.

In her meeting with the barangay officials in the presence of Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chair Bayani Fernando, the President enthused about the First Gentleman’s continuing recuperation at St. Luke’s Medical Center following his major heart operation exactly a week earlier, pointing out that the survival rate in such operations even in the best American hospitals is only 30 percent.

"Nagkuwentuhan na kami… Salamat sa Diyos," the President said as she also thanked the barangay folk for their daily prayers for her husband’s recovery.

Before entering the barangay hall, the President turned over a certificate to operate a Tindahan Natin to a barangay resident and 100 scholarship vouchers to the barangay chair and Yerma Saulon, a representative of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), for the enrollment of the barangay’s youth in short-term skills courses.

The President was met upon her arrival in the barangay by an aunt who lives in the area, Remedios Macapagal, a first cousin of her father, the late President Diosdado Macapagal.

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First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo continues to be "recovering faster than expected" and "is now having active bedside rehabilitation," his medical team at St. Luke’s Medical Center in Quezon City said this evening.

In a medical bulletin issued at 6 p.m. today, Dr. Juliet Gopez-Cervantes, the First Gentleman’s main attending physician, said Atty. Arroyo "already is able to converse and is fully oriented" while showing continuous progression in his condition.

"Overall, he is recovering faster than expected and will be transferred to a regular room probably on Wednesday," Dr. Cervantes said.

The hospital’s latest medical bulletin on the status of the First Gentleman confirmed what President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo told the officials of a barangay she visited in Sampaloc, Manila this morning that her husband could already talk.

"Nagkuwentuhan na kami…Salamat sa Diyos," she said as she thanked the barangay folk for their daily prayers for the First Gentleman’s speedy recovery.

Following is the full text of the medical bulletin as of 6 p.m., April 16, issued by Dr. Cervantes.

"Latest development on the recovery of the First Gentleman, Atty. Jose Miguel Arroyo, shows continuous progression in his status. He is now having active bedside rehabilitation – already sitting and tomorrow, will be allowed to stand and gradually ambulate in the coming days.

"He is also off dialysis today and he will be re-evaluated tomorrow if there is still a need for conventional dialysis for a short period of time.

"He already is able to converse and is fully oriented. He is still receiving antibiotics but there is still no active sign of infection and continues to be afebrile. We are gradually building up his nutrition through enteral feeding and later oral feeding. He is now on sips of fluids. At this point, however, besides being vigilant with risks of infection, we also closely have to monitor him for other possible complications.

"Overall he is recovering faster than expected and will be transferred to a regular room probably on Wednesday. We join the First Family in thanking you all for continuing to pray for the First Gentleman’s full recovery."

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