-
The Department of Transportation (DOTr) received a 2021 budget of P72.878-billion, a 12.3% drop from the P83.065-billion budget in 2020
-
Most of the 2021 budget will be for operations, mostly capital outlay for projects amounting to P63.8 billion
-
Budgets for programs in railway, maritime, and motor vehicle regulation declined, while budgets for aviation and land public transportation grew
The Department of Transportation (DOTr) has been allocated a P72.878-billion budget in 2021, 12.3% lower than its P83.065 billion budget last year.
Most of the 2020 budget will be for operations, mostly capital outlay for projects amounting to P63.8 billion, while the remaining P9 billion are for support of operations and general administration, according to the 2021 General Appropriations Act (GAA) signed by President Rodrigo Duterte on December 28, 2020.
Of the P63.8-billion budget for operations, 77.3% or P49.274 billion are for DOTr’s rail transport programs. This budget is 20% lower than the P61.436-billion budget for railway programs last year.
The current budget will be allocated for the construction, rehabilitation, and improvement of railway infrastructure projects, as well as other projects such as the Navotas Rail Feeder Project; Metro Manila Subway Phase 1; North-South Commuter Railway System; Philippine National Railways (PNR) South Long Haul Project; Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 1 Cavite Extension Project; LRT Line 2 East Extension Project; Subic-Clark Railway Project; and Mindanao Railway Project.
Land public transportation programs received a P6.738-billion allocation equivalent to 11% of the total operations budget, 560% higher than the P1.021-billion budget in 2020. Projects include the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program, Land Transportation Office (LTO) IT Infrastructure Project; Davao High Priority Bus System; EDSA Greenways Project; and Cebu Bus Rapid Transit Project.
Aviation infrastructure programs captured 8% of the DOTr budget or P4.946 billion, up 102.2% from last year’s budget of P2.446 billion.
Aviation projects included in the GAA involve the construction, rehabilitation, and improvement of airports, particularly those in Siquijor, Tacloban, Bukidnon, Lumbia, Sangley (Cavite), Basco, Itbayat, Catbalogan, Ormoc, M’lang, Antique, Laoag, Marinduque, General Santos, Zamboanga. It also includes the establishment of San Fernando Airport in Camotes, Cebu.
The motor vehicle regulatory program represented 3.5% or P2.26 billion of the DOTr budget, 52.4% down from last year’s P4.652-billion budget. The bulk of the budget is for the motor vehicle registration system, while the rest is for law enforcement and adjudication and LTO Rapid Drug Test Project, among others.
Maritime infrastructure projects took up 0.9% of the total projects budget with P562.410 million, a decline of 1.8% from P572.506 million in 2020. Programs include completion of San Esteban Port in San Fernando, Ilocos Sur; construction of Agoo Port/Ferry Terminal Phase IV in La Union; rehabilitation of Allen Municipal Wharf in Northern Samar; completion of Laylay Port in Marinduque; repair/rehabilitation of lighthouses in Antique; rehabilitation of Curimao Port Phase 1 in Ilocos Norte; improvement of Port Glan in Saranggani.
The budget includes counterpart funds for foreign-assisted projects such as the Maritime Safety Capability Improvement Project Phase 2 and New Cebu International Container Terminal Port Project.
In addition to the main budget, the 2021 GAA has special provisions for several other programs of DOTr.
The LTO has been allocated P67.874 million to implement provisions of Republic Act (RA) No. 8750 (Seat Belts Use Act of 1999) and RA 11229 (Child Safety in Motor Vehicles Act) on promoting the use of seat belts and child restraint systems.
The amount of P5.529 billion has been appropriated for payment of right-of-way to allow the implementation of several infrastructure projects including, the North-South Commuter Railway System, PNR South Long Haul, and New Cebu International Container Port.
For 2021, DOTr’s performance targets under the GAA include a 15% decrease in passenger travel time and flight delays; 5% increase in passenger traffic; and 2% improvement in air cargo volumes.
For the maritime segment, targets include a 5% increase in passenger traffic and another 5% increase in vessel traffic.
