MANILA — The Department of Transportation (DOTr) expressed commitment in pursuing various transportation projects in Mindanao to ensure ease of travel among its residents.
This, as the transportation department vowed to exert all efforts to address the current passenger congestion at Tagum Overland Transport Terminal in Davao del Norte.
In a statement released this weekend, the DOTr said the following projects are being undertaken by the department in the Davao region:
– Ongoing study of a high priority bus system project and local public transport route planning program funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) which is subject to the approval of the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) and set to be operational by 2019.
– Interim point to point (P2P) bus service which will start on August 2018.
– Implementation of inter-city and inter-regional bus services starting August 2018.
– Phase 1 of the Mindanao Railway Project which will connect Tagum City with Davao City and Digos in Davao del Sur set to be operational by 2021.
– Approval of a supplemental traffic management program amounting to more than PHP 500 million that will provide additional traffic lights, CCTVs and pedestrian walkways. Body cameras and breath analyzers will likewise be provided to city enforcers within this year.
DOTr Secretary Arthur Tugade directed Undersecretary for Road Transport Tim Orbos to undertake all the necessary measures to ease congestion in the Tagum transport terminal and to ensure that concerns of commuters are addressed efficiently.
“Please note that in line with the thrust of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, the DOTr will exert all efforts to stay true to its mandate of providing all Filipinos with a safe, comfortable, convenient, and efficient transportation system,” the statement read.
A post made rounds on social media this month as it showed images of the Tagum transport terminal jampacked of commuters waiting for buses.
A netizen had appealed to the DOTr and its attached agencies to issue franchises for additional buses and vans that will ferry passengers to their destinations. (Aerol John Pateña/PNA)
