Filipino consortium Philtrak, which early this month petitioned the Supreme Court to halt upcoming elevated railway projects, said it would continue to pursue its proposed elevated bus rapid transit projects.
Philtrak said it had prepared the terms of reference for its BRT projects, which were proposed last year to the Department of Transportation and Communications, but were turned down because of the current administration’s preference for “open and transparent” bidding.
The move prompted the filing of a petition for mandamus, which called for a halt to the planned P65-billion extension of the Light Rail Transit Line 1 extension to Cavite, and the P62-billion Metro Rail Transit Line 7, which will extend the MRT-3 to Bulacan province.
Philtrak claimed its “subsidy-free” BRT projects, as an alternative to railways, would save billions of pesos in subsidies allotted to existing mass railways in Metro Manila, which require government support to continue operations.
For now, the consortium is focusing on submitting its proposals to city mayors across the country, Philtrak CEO Francis Yuseco said in a statement over the weekend.
“We have already prepared our terms of reference for the various mayors to review,” Yuseco said, adding that the group has also informed President Aquino about the proposal.
The cities it contacted include Davao, Manila, Cebu, Cagayan de Oro and Tacloban, he said.
Philtrak had already submitted two unsolicited BRT proposals for the Bay area in Manila and Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City.
But because of the government’s bidding policy, Philtrak decided to file a petition with the Supreme Court so “the benefits will be known by the Filipino taxpayers,” Yuseco noted.
The group has retained former Sen. Rene A. V. Saguisag as general counsel.
In its filing, Philtrak informed the high court that the BRT projects would be much cheaper to implement, and could generate savings in operating costs.
“Completely dedicated at-grade or elevated roads will be more than sufficient and cost only 10 percent of these imported rail systems,” Philtrak claimed.
It also asked the Supreme Court for a permanent injunction against any future rail-based mass transport system that will charge fares higher than non-airconditioned buses and those that would take more than 18 months to build.
It further asked the high court to compel respondents, which include officials of the departments of transportation, and budget, to act on its unsolicited BRT proposals.
Other projects planned by Philtrak include elevated bus lines from Baclaran to Cavite, and Antipolo to Edsa via Ortigas Avenue. The Philtrak consortium is composed of Del Monte Motor Works Corp., Del Monte Land Transport Bus Co., Philtrak Inc., Land Excel Consulting Inc., Micrologics Systems Inc., New City Builders Inc. and Versatech Consultants and Management Corp.