House to review proposed MRT-LRT common station

MANILA— The House of Representatives will conduct a review of the memorandum of agreement for the common terminal linking Light Railway Transit Line 1 and Metro Rail Transit Lines 1 and 7, which would cost the government an estimated PHP2.8 billion.

In a radio interview on Thursday, Alvarez said the construction of the common station should undergo congressional scrutiny to put the public interest before vested interests of big businesses involved in the project.

“It’s not good news because the costs are too high. Is the common station proposal really for the convenience of passengers?,” Alvarez said.

The agreement was signed Wednesday by Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Arthur Tugade and Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Mark Villar with LRT Authority Administrator Reynaldo Berroya, SM Prime Holdings Inc. (SMPHI) executive chairman Hans Sy, Light Rail Manila Corp. vice chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan, San Miguel Corp. (SMC) president and chief operating officer Ramon Ang and North Triangle Depot Commercial Corp. (NTDCC) represented by Ayala Land Inc. vice chairman Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala.

He noted that the project faced a standstill because of the conflicting interests of big private players on the common station.

The common station project started in 2009 but bogged down due to the issue of its location.

The Light Rail Transit Authority initially signed a PHP200-million deal with SMPHI to build the station in front of SM North EDSA.

Five years later, the DOTC decided to build the station near Ayala’s Trinoma mall.

SMPHI filed for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO), which was granted by the Supreme Court in 2014 to stop the DPWH from transferring the original planned location of the common station.

“The Filipino people would be put at a disadvantage… As for me, I hope the DOTr would champion the interest of the public and not look at the interests of big businesses,” Alvarez stressed.

Alvarez said House Transportation Committee Chairman, Rep. Cesar Sarmiento, who has been closely following the development in the common station project, was surprised by the reported MOA signing.

Alvarez said that a hearing will be conducted regarding the matter.

“We would closely scrutinize the project to ensure that it would be beneficial,” he added.

Under the MOA, the 13,700-square meter common station would be located between SM North EDSA and Trinoma malls in the vicinity of EDSA and North Avenue.