Railway network expansion, port decongestion on top of Binay's agenda

Vice President Jejomar Binay vowed to expand the country's railway network and decongest the ports should he be elected president in May.

In an interview with GMA News anchor Mike Enriquez, Binay said the railway system should grow to keep up with the rising number of people who need to take public transportation.

He attributed the congestion problem at the MRT to poor maintenance and preparation on the government's part.

“Kulang talaga tayo ng preparasyon dahil sa masyadong pagod na yung mga tren kaya ang maintenance ay naaapektuhan nang todo-todo. Kaya kailangang dagdagan pa natin na mag-expand tayo. I-expand natin ang MRT, LRT (Light Rail Transit) at i-rehabilitate po natin ang ating mga railways sa tren,” Binay said.

In an apparent swipe at the Aquino administration, the Vice President said he will not pin the blame for the country's transportation woes on his predecessor should he become the next president.

“Hindi ko ho gagawin na magbibintang ako na inabutan ko yan ng ganyan, gagawan ko ho ng solusyon yan,” he said.

As a former chairman of the Metro Manila Development Authority and a one-time governor of the capital, Binay believes the problems in the transportation sector is borne out of the government's reactionary stance.

To illustrate his statement, the Vice President noted that C-5 is already congested only a few years after its construction ended while old subdivisions barely experience traffic jams.

“Ang sinasabi ko ang gobyerno natin may reaksyunaryo hindi visionary, hindi proactive. Tingnan mo yung C-5, C-5 ilang taon pa lang yan overloaded na, eh kasi now ikumpara mo naman doon sa mga dito sa subdivision kita mo naman yun kahit na 30 years wala kang nakikitang mga traffic,” he said.

Aside from expanding the country's railway network, Binay said it is also important for the Manila port to be decongested since 70 percent of the cargo which arrive there are eventually transported to Laguna, Batangas or Cavite.

To improve the state of air travel, Binay said management of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport and local airports should be under one official instead of having several agencies in charge of various tasks.

At present, a total of 17 government agencies are working in the airports.

“Kailangan isa lang po ang namumuno diyan lahat yan under niya in which case mapapagsabihan niya eh kasi pagka may mangyayari doon kokonekta pa yun sa head office, hindi naman bibigyan ng decentralization powers yun,” he said. — APG, GMA News