IT takes a neophyte lawmaker to point out the annoying nuance of infrastructure construction. Or in this case, a full-blown billion-peso blunder.
Las Piñas City Rep. Mark Anthony Santos isn’t mincing words: The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) must immediately dismantle a segment of the C-5 Quirino Highway Flyover that literally blocks the ₱65-billion LRT-1 Cavite Extension project.
His point is painfully simple — instead of spending another ₱1 billion to redesign and reroute three train stations, just tear down the obstruction and let the trains run as planned.
“Why should taxpayers shoulder the cost of a billion-peso mistake? If this flyover is blocking a major mass transit project, then it must go,” Santos fired.
This isn’t some random road. It’s a 680-meter, ₱300.39-million flyover along Quirino Highway, part of the C-5 extension project pushed under then-DPWH Secretary (now Senator) Mark Villar. It opened in April 2024 — but not before slicing straight into the path of a rail project meant to serve millions.
Phase 1 of the LRT-1 Cavite Extension — five stations in Parañaque — was already delayed by nearly three years thanks to the pandemic. It finally opened in November 2024 after costs ballooned past the original ₱64.2 billion price tag.
Phase 2, from Las Piñas City to Niog in Bacoor, is now staring at another three-to-five-year delay. Why? Because the LRT can’t run on its original alignment — the DPWH built a flyover right on top of it.
This isn’t just a case of “oops.” DOTr officials have already told President Marcos the matter is urgent. Redesigning the tracks and station posts would mean at least another ₱1 billion down the drain — not counting right-of-way headaches and utility relocations.
Santos is right to be furious. The LRT-1 isn’t just concrete and steel — it’s a daily lifeline for thousands of commuters. Every delay means more people stuck in traffic, more hours wasted, and more jeepney fares paid instead of a quick, clean train ride.
And for what? A flyover that residents say has already caused redundant road alignments, clashed with the Manila–Cavite Toll Expressway Project, and jacked up property compensation costs.
The DOTr is now also asking for ₱3 billion for a new Talaba Station at the request of Bacoor City — a station that wasn’t even in the original rollout. Construction for Phase 2 might not begin until 2026, with the Las Piñas City and Zapote stops possibly opening by 2028, and Talaba and Niog by 2030.
By then, the original planners of this project might be retired — or worse, sitting in cushy government posts bragging about “infrastructure accomplishments” that came years too late.
If this was private business, heads would roll. But in government, mistakes are patched over with more taxpayer money and long-winded press releases. Santos is doing the public a service by calling this out for what it is — a preventable mess caused by the left hand not knowing (or caring) what the right hand is doing.
The fix isn’t complicated. Remove the obstruction. Get the trains running. Stop making Filipinos pay for your mistakes twice.
Because every year lost isn’t just about billions in wasted funds — it’s about the daily grind of commuters who deserve better than this never-ending “Build, Delay, Repeat” cycle.
