Another challenging year for DOTr 

By DIEGO C. CAGAHASTIAN and JONATHAN P. GESMUNDO

The year 2025 was filled with exciting challenges for the Department of Transportation (DOTr), some of which were not of its own making.

DOTr was inadvertently enmeshed in the spill-over of the flood control scandal that hit the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), a massive controversy involving past DPWH secretaries, undersecretaries, district engineers, and unit heads—in connivance with leaders of the House of Representatives, the Senate and Malacanang Palace. 

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had to pull out then Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon and tasked him with cleaning up the DPWH mess.

DOTr is thus left with Undersecretary Giovanni ‘Banoy’ Lopez who assumed the roleActing Secretary. Working previously as a Usec under former Secretary Art Tugade, Lopez was familiar with the idiosyncrasies of transport projects.

In an interview, Lopez said transportation is crucial to economic development. He added that transportation — airports, roads, seaports, subways, railways, etc. — is the backbone of the economy. His overarching objective is to improve accessibility, reduce travel time, and cost of travel.

DOTr handles several big-ticket projects that would takes years and billions of pesos to complete. 

1. The North-South Commuter Railways (NSCR) stretching for 148 kilometers from Clark in the north to Calamba in the south, costs P874 billion. It is expected to be fully operational by 2028.

2. The Metro Manila Subway Project is the country’s first underground rail line, spanning 33 kilometers from Valenzuela to FTI-Bicutan, with a spur line to NAIA Terminal 3. It is expected to be completed by 2032.

3. MRT Line 7 runs for 22 kilometers, with 14 stations, linking Quezon City to San Jose del Monte, Bulacan. Partial operations is slated for next year.

4. LRT 1, the country’s first elevated railway, has been successfully extended from Baclaran to Cavite.

5. LRT 2 is to be extended beyond Antipolo station in the east and from Recto to North Harbor in the west.

6. MRT 4 has successfully hurdled finance sourcing and awaiting selection of the best qualified contractors. It runs for 15 kilometers along the stretch of Ortigas Avenue from EDSA all the way to Taytay, Rizal, from where the planned first cable car system will connect.

7. A proposed rail project being supported by the US government is the Subic-Clark-Manila-Batangas railway, an elevated passenger-freight line that will link the seaports of Subic and Batangas. It will connect with the North-South Commuter Railway at Clark.

Aside from the successful privatization of NAIA, the operations and maintenance of two other airports have been transferred to private consortia – Laguindingan at Cagayan de Oro and Bohol-Panglao airport. More domestic airports are lined up for privatization.

Other exciting projects are the MAPALLA river ferry and Cable Car system. MAPALLA (Manila Bay-Pasig River-Laguna Lake) ferry system will start at Manila Bay and terminate at Laguna de Bay – expanding the existing Pasig River Ferry.

A feasibility study in underway for a cable car system that will provide an exciting public transport alternative for resident of Antipolo.

DOTr is also proud of the highly efficient EDSA Busway, conceived during the COVID pandemic and serves as an effective alternate to EDSA’s perennial traffic. It is being replicated and expanded in Cebu – through the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit – and at Davao through the Davao Public Transport Modernization.

The agency faced daunting budgetary constraints in implementing these transport infrastructures, prompting DOTr to seek foreign loans and support from international financing agencies.

For 2026, DOTr received a budget of P74.5 B, 28% lower than last year’s ₱103.05 billion, prompting the agency to turn to overseas funding and private-sector partners to fund theirprojects.

Around 80% of DOTr’s projects are funded by official development assistance (ODA), or foreign aid.

Lopez said DOTr can obligate around ₱60 billion or roughly 80% of the year’s infrastructure outlay within the first quarter to fast-track construction of major projects.