Former president Rodrigo Duterte reacted to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s apparent impasse on the long-planned Mindanao Railway Project (MRP) in his recently concluded State of the Nation Address (SONA)
Ribbing Marcos Jr for his silence on the MRP, he joked that the project’s completion might get caught up with “the resurrection of Christ.”
Duterte’s joke was meant to say the project might not even be completed under the Marcos administration.
“Itanong natin may awarding na ba? Doon talaga ang problema. I hope na makaumpisa lang man tayo seguro Mr. President like where would the terminal be located? Mayroon itong Tagum-Davao-Digos (TDD) segment. The turnover I would say baka abutan ito ng resurrection of Christ,” the former president said in “Basta Dabawenyo” hosted by Atty. Trixie Cruz-Angeles and Mark Lopez.
During his SONA, Marcos highlighted five big-ticket projects: the Metro Manila Subway, MRT-7, North-South Commuter Railway, LRT-1 Cavite Extension, and the PNR Bicol Line but failed to mention the MRP.
The MRP is among big-ticket projects under the Build, Build, Build program of the Duterte administration. The establishment of the MRP is among the eight projects in the Infrastructure Flagship Project (IFP) list in Davao Region endorsed by the Regional Development Council (RDC 11).
The first phase is a 102-kilometer Tagum-Davao-Digos (TDD) segment covering 100 kilometers with eight railway stations and two depots.
The TDD segment will be partly funded by official development assistance (ODA) from China.
The project advancements include the establishment of the Tagumpay Train Village in Tagum City, a resettlement site offering 248 housing units for affected families.
The project aims to reduce travel time between Tagum and Digos City from three hours to an hour.
“Do not feel insulted (Marcos). Maganda tayo sa announcement, yang railway hanggang Bicol, susmaryosep, magbili ka na lang sa toyland ng train na maliit, gagana pa yan, mag imagine ka na lang,” Duterte said.
Duterte said if the President wants MRP to be completed, there is no need for bidding as he can do it directly.
“You want it done? It’s a little bit expensive. Huwag nang i-bidding bidding, i-derecho mo na. Like ikaw Mitsubishi, I will pay it in 25 years sa ganitong installment, so you start,” Duterte said.
Duterte said China has always been very interested in helping the government with the completion of the project.
“But alam mo yung due to political atmosphere lalo na sa itaas, kasi mahalata mo na sa Amerikano talaga. If you are on China you are anti-American. Hindi nila matanggap yung neutral ka. So yan ang mahirap. America does not have money to fund it, it’s only China or Japan. Sila na lang, ibigay mo sa kanila at bayaran natin ng ilang taon,” he said.
However, the Philippines dropped China as the funding source for the MRP and is no longer pursuing Chinese loan financing for the project after China withdrew its loan deal with the Philippines last year.
Meanwhile, Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) Chair Secretary Leo Tereso A. Magno said that they are now looking for a funding source as the project was too expensive.
Magno also said that three companies from Korea and Japan signified their interest in helping build the MRP.