House panels approve bill creating Quezon-Bicol Expressway

The development and progress among regions in Southern Luzon is expected to be enhanced by a bill seeking to establish the Quezon-Bicol Expressway, which has already been endorsed for plenary approval. 

The House Committees on Southern Tagalog Development, led by Rep. Isidro S. Rodriguez, Jr. of Rizal province, and on Appropriations, headed by Rep. Isidro T. Ungab of Davao City, have approved House Bill (HB) 6475, or the proposed Quezon-Bicol Expressway (QuBEx)Act, and have endorsed it for plenary passage. The bill substituted HB 5623.

It provides for the creation of the QuBEx, which shall be financed, constructed, operated and maintained by a grantee, offeror, consortium or proponent, under and by virtue of Republic Act (RA) 6957, as amended by RA 7718, also known as the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) Law.

The QuBEx shall link the province of Quezon with the Bicol region, starting from Quezon’s Malicboy town and ending in Sorsogon province.

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) engineering district concerned shall construct the connect road for the purpose of linking the terminus of the South Luzon Expressway (SLEx)Toll Road 4 (TR4) in Lucena City, Quezon, and the entrance of the QuBEx in Malicboy.

The DPWH shall be the lead implementing agency of the act. The amount necessary to defray the cost of undertaking and completing the feasibility study of the project and other activities relative thereto shall be included in the General Appropriations Act.

Lanete said the government had consistently failed to promote simultaneous development in the country’s regions, as shown, for example, by the construction of expressways leading to Northern and Southern Luzon.

Lanete said there are only two expressways leading to Southern Luzon—the SLEx and the Star Tollway, and when combined, these two lead up to Batangas province only.

Whereas, Lanete said, the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEx), which opened in 2014, is the third expressway built connecting Manila to the northern areas of Luzon.

Lanete, a vice chairman of the House Committees on Appropriations, on Poverty Alleviation, and on Public Order and Safety, said the TPLEx’s construction had made an immediate impact on the development of trade and tourism in Northern Luzon.

“It made Baguio City, a popular tourist destination, more accessible. In fact, travel time from Manila to Baguio City had been cut short from seven hours to less than five hours. Thus, Baguio City has experienced an exponential rise in the number of visiting tourists and consequently its revenues also increased significantly,” said Lanete.

Thus, compared with the expressways of Northern Luzon, which cover at least five provinces, it can be inferred that Southern Luzon has been spared from development, according to Lanete.

“The promising tourist destinations located in the southern areas of Luzon have remained stagnant, untapped and underappreciated, due to difficulty in access. Along with the underdevelopment of these areas is the slow growth in terms of commerce,” he said.

To pursue optimum opportunity for development among the regions, the lawmaker said there is a need to give attention to Southern Luzon “[b]y constructing additional expressways that would make areas as far as Sorsogon more accessible by road.”

Lanete also said in his proposal to create the QuBEx that the state will be fulfilling its responsibility in promoting optimum growth among the regions in Southern Luzon.

“It is envisioned that there will be an improvement in the tourism industry, which will translate into a developed and progressive citizenry,” he added.

Meanwhile, Suarez’s proposal seeks to amend Presidential Decree (PD) 1894, which says the grantee of the franchise has the right and privilege to construct, maintain and operate the SLEx from Nichols, Pasay City, to Lucena.

“After almost 30 years from its enactment, there is a need to amend PD 1894 to respond to the changes of time. The proposed amendatory law will extend the SLEx from Lucena City to Malicboy, Quezon, by an additional 21.96 kilometers,” Suarez said.

Suarez, a member of the House Committees on Southern Tagalog Development, Appropriations, Reforestation, Health, and Accounts, said the proposed extension of the road network from Lucena to Malicboy aims to make travel to Bicol faster and more convenient.

“It will decongest traffic within and around the area. As a result, it will improve the mobility of goods and products from Quezon province and the Bicol region. The faster and convenient travel would also translate to (the) growth of the tourism industry in these areas, to the benefit of people living there,” said Suarez.