Marcos orders creation of right-of-way committee for railway projects

President Ferdinand ”Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has directed the creation of an Inter-Agency Committee for Right-of Way (ROW) Activities for National Railway Projects, which aims to streamline the process of land acquisition for all the railway projects across the country.

The committee is tasked “to study and devise an efficient and collaborative mechanism to streamline the process of land acquisition necessary for the implementation of all railway projects,” Marcos said in issuing Administrative Order No. 19 dated March 25.

The committee is also tasked to coordinate the implementation of railway policies and projects, craft and approve project-specific policies and programs, and identify the appropriate services or programs concerning land acquisition and other ROW activities, such as livelihood, income restoration, and resettlement.

It is also directed to identify effective existing policies, agreements, contracts, and other similar arrangements between and among government agencies, consolidate and mobilize agency resources to streamline budgeting, deliberate and resolve issues, grievance and create technical working groups to implement the order.

Marcos designated the Department of Transportation (DOTr) secretary as the chairperson and the secretary of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development as co-chairperson of the committee.

Meanwhile, the Philippine National Railway (PNR) shall serve as the Secretariat of the Committee that will provide administrative and technical support to the body.

The Republic Act (RA) No. 10752, or the “Right-of-Way (ROW) Act,” authorizes the government to acquire real property needed as ROW site or location for any national government infrastructure project through donation, negotiated sale, expropriation, or any other mode of acquisition. —KBK, GMA Integrated News