MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Railways (PNR) Calamba Project has received a record-breaking number of bids, according to the Department of Transportation (DOTr).

A turnout of 34 bids was received from six Philippine companies and 17 international companies that intend to participate in contract packages of the PNR-Calamba Project.

The said project aims to construct a combined 40.5 kilometers of viaduct structures, including 13 elevated stations and a 22-hectare train depot.

DOTr Secretary Arthur Tugade that the impressive turnout of bidders for the PNR Calamba Project’s contract packages is proof of the infrastructure sector’s trust in the government’s Build Build Build infrastructure program.

He also reported that five more contract packages for the PNR Calamba Project are set for the opening of bids later this year.

PNR Calamba is part of the massive 147-kilometer North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) System which has 35 stations stretching from Calamba in Laguna to the Clark International Airport in Pampanga.

The NSCR System will have a fleet of 464 train cars or 58 trains sets, including seven (7) Airport Express train sets.

The NSCR System intends to cut travel time from the Clark International Airport to Calamba from more than 4 hours down to just 1.5 hours. AAC

MANILA, Philippines — Amid the heavy traffic on Metro Manila’s main thoroughfare, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) has encouraged private vehicle owners to take public transportation.

In a statement, the department said that taking the EDSA Busway System and the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) would help ease the heavy congestion along EDSA.

The DOTr assured that operations of the EDSA Busway System and the MRT-3 remain smooth and travel time is still fast for commuters. From 3 to 4 hours of travel time from Monumento to PITX, it is reduced to 45 minutes to 1 hour, according to the transportation department.

“Ang MRT-3 ay patuloy na nakakapagbibigay ngayon ng mas maganda, mas maayos, at mabilis na serbisyo sa ating mga commuter,” the department said in a statement.

MRT-3 operations would also improve once the massive rehabilitation and maintenance activities are completed by December 2021.

Meanwhile, the government is expected to resume the Service Contracting Program under the regular budget of the national government. This is to provide incentives to PUVs that provide free rides to commuters. AAC

MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Immigration (BI) reported an incident involving a Filipino worker who was set to leave for Doha, Qatar using a fake identity.

The BI withheld the victim’s identity in compliance with current anti-trafficking laws.

The BI said the victim attempted to depart via Qatar Airways flight No. QR 931 at the Clark International

Airport on Saturday (July 10) to work as a household service worker (HSW) in Doha, Qatar.

Based on reports from Travel Control and Enforcement Unit (TCEU) Officers Johnel Badua and Marc Danes Diego, the victim was referred for secondary inspection after noticing inconsistencies in her statements in the initial inspection.

She claimed to be 27 years old but provided numerous inconsistencies in her story when asked for personal details.

She eventually gave her real name and admitted that she is only 24 years old, leading BI officers to suspect that the woman is a victim of human trafficking.

“These human traffickers go as far as providing their victims documents that assume the identity of others. This has to stop, ” said BI Commissioner Jaime Morente.

Morente added that intercepted human trafficking victims are immediately referred to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) for further investigation of their recruiters, as well as to provide assistance in filing cases against them.