LAST week, Vivencio “Vince” Dizon, the presidential adviser on flagships projects and chief of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), provided a summary of the Duterte administration’s accomplishments in infrastructure development. Among the 119 “flagship projects” under the administration’s multiyear Build, Build, Build program are a number of rail transport developments.

Most of these have already been initiated, but a few will be left to the next administration to undertake. It has typically been the practice of new administrations to review and modify plans left behind by their predecessors, and while there is some continuity, there is never a guarantee that any of the priorities of an outgoing administration will be taken up by its replacement. While the next administration, regardless of whether it is supportive of or opposed to President Duterte’s policies and outlook, will certainly want to pursue its own priorities and build its own legacy, we believe it should maintain and if possible, increase the momentum toward development of rail infrastructure.

Major rail projects currently under way include the Metro Rail Transit Line 7 (MRT 7) connecting North Avenue in Quezon City to San Jose del Monte, Bulacan; the Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT 1) extension from Pasay to Bacoor, Cavite; the Metro Manila Subway project, which will eventually connect Valenzuela to Parañaque; the North-South Commuter Railway System, which will stretch from Clark in Pampanga to Calamba, Laguna; the Mindanao Railway Project, which will connect Tagum, Davao del Norte, Davao City and Digos, Davao del Sur; and the MRT-LRT Common Station at North Avenue, Quezon City, which will connect the LRT 1, MRT 3 and MRT 7 lines.

These projects are all in some stage of construction; some have only recently had preliminary work begun, while others are well advanced. In addition to these, the LRT 2 extension to Masinag, Antipolo has just been completed and the rehabilitation of the MRT 3 line, a job so big it should be counted as a major infrastructure project in its own right, is also nearing completion.

Completion of the work that has already begun on these is probably assured, but there are numerous other planned projects that may not be continued. These include additional phases of the Metro Manila Subway; connecting lines to the North-South Commuter Railway; additional phases of the Mindanao Railway to extend it beyond the Davao region; and the Philippine National Railway South Long Haul Project, which would connect Metro Manila to the Bicol Region.