Lawmakers push for high-speed railway to connect Clark and NAIA

Clark International Airport. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – Lawmakers have renewed calls for the construction of a high-speed railway system connecting the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) and the Clark International Airport (CIA), in hopes that the latter will become the country’s newest international gateway.

Several lawmakers, mostly from Central Luzon, have filed a resolution in Congress urging President Benigno Aquino III to prioritize the long sought-after high-speed railway system that will connect Clark, Pampanga to Metro Manila.

Experts and officials in the past have noted Clark’s potential to become the Philippines’ premier international gateway because of NAIA’s congestion and space limitations.

“(NAIA) has limited runway capacity and its land area can no longer be subject to expansion. It is at present insufficient to address the growing demands of air transportation system, thus affecting our international linkages especially in business and tourism,” Bulacan Representative Linabelle Ruth Villarica, among those who filed the resolution, said in a statement Saturday.

However, authorities have been unable to move NAIA’s operations to Clark because of the latter’s distance to the country capital. A multi-billion-dollar railway system, like those in other countries, is seen as a solution but critics claim it is too costly for a developing country like the Philippines.

But Villarica said the project should push through since the CIA is already fully operational and has available land for expansion. She also said that Clark is a tourist destination that will benefit from the project.

“The only missing link to make it a premier international airport and attract investors is a high speed railway system…. The unprecedented development of Central Luzon hinges on Clark becoming a premier international airport,” Villarica said.

Among those who filed the resolution was former President and now Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

It was during Arroyo’s administration that the North Rail project, which was supposed to connect Manila to Bulacan and Clark, was envisioned but was derailed due to reports of anomalies, high cost and contractual problems, among others.

House Resolution 230, which asks Aquino, through Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya, to construct the railway system was co-authored by Pampanga Reps. Joseller “Yeng” Guiao, Oscar Rodriguez , and Juan Pablo Bondoc; Tarlac Reps. Enrique Cojuangco, Susan Yap and Noel Villanueva; Bataan Reps. Herminia Roman, Enrique Garcia, Jr.; Zambales Reps. Jeffrey Khonghun and Cheryl Deloso-Montalla; Nueva Ecija Reps. Estrellita Suansing, Joseph Gilbert Violago, Czarina Umali and Magnolia Rosa Antonino-Nadres; Bulacan Reps. Ma. Victoria Sy-Alvarado, Gavini Pancho, and Joselito Andrew Mendoza; San Jose del Monte City Rep. Arturo Robes; Aurora Rep. Bellaflor Angara-Castillo; CIBAC Reps. Sherwin Tugna and Cinchona Cruz-Gonzales; Butil Rep. Agapito Guanlao; and 1-Sagip Rep. Erlinda Santiago.

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