By Kris Crismundo | Philippine News Agency
At least 43 landowners in Pampanga have agreed to share their property to the government for the construction of the Subic-Clark-Manila-Batangas (SCMB) railway project, the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) said.
In a statement over the weekend, BCDA said 68 Transfer Certificate of Titles (TCTs) were recently distributed to the landowners from the towns of Porac and Floridablanca whose properties would be affected by the railway project.
Due to the right-of-way requirements, landowners with affected properties had a reduction in the size of their land.
The TCTs that were issued correspond to the portions of land retained by the landowners, with the affected areas being transferred to the BCDA.
During the turnover ceremony, BCDA officer in charge Senior Vice President Richard Brian Cepe said the cooperation of affected landowners would help in the speedy completion of the project.
“One of the biggest challenges faced by the government is securing what we call the right-of-way, so your willingness to make sacrifices and cooperate has been a tremendous help in ensuring the swift completion of this project,” Cepe addressed the landowners in Filipino.
BCDA said the landowners were already paid under negotiation and not through expropriation.
The SCMB, a cargo railway connecting Subic, Zambales, and Batangas provinces, is a flagship project of the Luzon Economic Corridor (LEC).
LEC is a brainchild of the trilateral meeting of the Philippines, United States, and Japan last April in Washington D.C.
Projects under the LEC will be funded by the $600-billion Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII) of the G7 countries, which include the US and Japan.
