Senator Mark Villar presided over the public hearing on the amendments to Republic Act No. 10752 or the Right of Way Act.
“We need to make significant tweaks to the current law in order to make it responsive to the needs of the implementing agencies,” Villar stressed.
“It is crucial to know how the ROW Act could be amended so it would be in sync with the dynamic changes in the infrastructure landscape. We also need to ensure that the implementing agencies will be empowered to fulfill their mandates once the law has been amended to fit contemporary needs,” the veteran legislator explained.
In the senator’s discussion with various resource persons from the implementing agencies such as the Department of Transportation (DOTr), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Office of the Solicitor General among others, he stressed the importance of ensuring the balance between infrastructure development plans and the right of private property owners to just compensation.
Villar particularly focused on the persisting issue of the delays in the right-of-way acquisition and the compensation given to private property owners.
“We must develop our infrastructure landscape but not at the expense of our fellow Filipinos.”
“Kailangan din natin masigurado na itong amendment sa ROW Act will solve the compensation issues of private property owners affected by government infrastructure projects. We must ensure that moving forward, they will be provided with timely and just compensation,” he said.
“The just compensation is a time honored principle enshrined in our constitution at kailangan nating masiguro na makukuha ng ating mga affected kababayans ang worth ng kanilang properties. We must develop our infrastructure landscape but not at the expense of our fellow Filipinos,” Villar emphasized.
“Mayroon pong mga kaso ng delays of compensation, to the point na hindi na nakukuha ng mga property owners ang worth ng kanilang mga properties dahil sa inflation and the decreasing purchasing power of their money. Bumababa ang value ng kanilang pera dahil na rin sa tagal bago maibigay sa kanila ang kanilang compensation. Ang mga properties na ito ay mula sa kanilang pinaghirapan and it will be unjust if they will not be properly compensated,” He added.
Villar also touched on his previous experience as the Secretary of DPWH, citing how it was a tedious process to acquire the right of way on infrastructure projects.
He encouraged the implementing agencies to carefully tread on the amendments to the law to ensure that every detail of the process will be considered.
“As the former infrastructure czar, naniniwala ako na solving this bottleneck sa right-of-way acquisition will give us high-impact infrastructure projects that are delivered timely and efficiently.”
“As the former infrastructure czar, naniniwala ako na solving this bottleneck sa right-of-way acquisition will give us high-impact infrastructure projects that are delivered timely and efficiently. Gamit ang solusyon na ito, mabibigyan po natin ang ating mga kababayan ng mga proyekto na makakatulong sa kanilang pang-araw araw na buhay at sa ekonomiya ng ating bansa,” Villar explained.
He adjourned the public hearing and referred the measures to a Technical Working Group which will convene on August 20, 2024.
