PNR chair Macapagal calls BBM railway president

Michael Ted R. Macapagal was appointed chairman of the Philippine National Railways by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.

Macapagal took his oath of office before DOTr Secretary Jaime Bautista, under whose authority the PNR operates, on May 2. He will, along with PNR GM Jeremy Regino, implement the construction of the 147.26 km North-South Commuter Railway Project from Clark in Pampanga to Metro Manila and then to Calamba City in Laguna, with 35 stations and three depots along the way.

The Asian Development Bank and Japan International Cooperation Agency are financing the project at a cost of P873.62 billion.

During the swearing in ceremony, Macapagal said President Marcos will go down in history as “the father of the Philippine railway system,” and that he is grateful for the opportunity to have been given a role in the history making process.

He said Japan, China, India, the Russian Federation, and the European Union depend so much on trains to move people and transport goods. It is the experience of these countries, he added, that President Marcos sets up as the country’s blueprint for economic development.

Once the project is completed, 800,000 passengers will be able to travel safely and in comfort on commuter trains everyday. It will also cut travel time from four hours to two hours. That also goes with the movement of goods.

Mr. Macapagal spent some time in the United States, where he worked for years as division president of Stewart Title Company of San Francisco Bay Area. The company is one of the largest underwriters in the world with offices all over the US and 80 other countries.