GORDON TO PRESIDE HEARING ON CREATION OF MINDANAO RAILWAY TODAY

Taking another step towards the creation of a railway system in Mindanao that would spur development in the island, Senator Richard J. Gordon will conduct a hearing today to discuss proposed measures calling for the creation of an agency that would oversee the construction and operation of the Mindanao railway.

Gordon, chairman of the Senate Committee on Government Corporations and Public Enterprises, will preside the hearing which will be conducted jointly with the Committees on Public Services; Ways and Means; and Finance.

"Having a railway in Mindanao would bring in much-needed development in the island that we call the Land of Promise. Aside from providing cost-efficient and speedy means of travel for people, trains also facilitate trade and commerce through the transport of cargo and agricultural products, promoting tourism, providing jobs, and relieving traffic, among others. Trains contributed largely to the economic development of countries like the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Korea and others. In America, the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in 1869 made possible a six-day trip from New York to San Francisco, helped shape the landscape and geography, brought thousands of westward-bound immigrants to the American West and opened new townships," the senator pointed out.

"If we have a train in Mindanao, the construction, alone, would provide jobs. Once it is operational, the farmers there will be able to move their products easier. It would create opportunities for Mindanaoans. I have always believed that the rebellion in Mindanao is spurred by the lack of opportunities produced by the absence of proper governance there. It is difficult for farmers to bring their produce to the market and there is insufficient means of livelihood that's why people there turn to guns," he added.

Aside from proposed measures calling for the creation of an agency that will spearhead the construction and operation of a Mindanao railway, Gordon said proposed measures calling for the restoration and rehabilitation of the existing lines of the Philippine National Railways will also be discussed.

"We already had trains as early as the 1880s. We had trains going from the Tutuban Central Terminal to as far as Damortis in La Union and Legazpi City in Bicol. We even had trains in Cebu, Panay and Negros. But we let them go. If we improve our railways system and create new ones, we will not only spur development, but also decongest Metro Manila and the other congested urbanized cities across the country. It will also promote tourism. President Gloria Arroyo had the right idea when she made an effort to get the North Rail Project underway," he noted.

Gordon's Senate Bill No. 103 or the Mindanao Railway Act, which aims to create the Mindanao Railway Corporation, an agency that would be authorized to establish and maintain an efficient railway system, will be among the proposed measures to be taken up.

"To invest money and time in the Mindanao Railway System would be risky beyond anything ever before attempted, but when it is completed, it would link the entire island of Mindanao, forever changing the nature of Mindanao's politics and economy," he said.

Gordon has long been proposing the development of what is tagged as the country's Food Basket, thus he authored Republic Act 9996 or the Mindanao Development Authority Act of 2010.