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President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. has ordered abolition of the North Luzon Railways Corporation
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Memorandum Order 17 said the firm no longer achieved its objectives and was not cost efficient
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NLRC was tasked to implement the Northrail project, connecting Caloocan City to Malolos, Bulacan
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The National Economic and Development Authority Board approved the North-South Commuter Railway Project in 2015, causing the termination of the Northrail project
President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. has ordered the abolition of the North Luzon Railways Corporation (NorthRail).
The directive, via Memorandum Order (MO) 17, comes after a review by the Governance Commission for Government-Owned and -Controlled Corporations (GCG) revealed NorthRail’s failure to meet its intended objectives and demonstrate cost-efficiency.
Established in 1995 as a subsidiary of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), NorthRail was created to develop, construct, operate, and manage a railway system serving Metro Manila, Central Luzon and Northern Luzon.
The memo said the company is “…No longer achieving the objectives and purposes for which it was designed and created; and not cost efficient and does not generate the level of social, physical and economic returns vis-a-vis the resource inputs.”
The order was signed by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin on October 19 by authority of the President and published on the Official Gazette website on October 21. The order took immediate effect.
“Pursuant to Section 5(a) of Republic Act No. 10149 or the GOCC Governance Act of 2011, the GCG has determined that NorthRail has met the standards for abolition,” MO 17 added.
In 2015, the National Economic and Development Authority Board approved the North-South Commuter Railway Project, effectively discontinuing the NorthRail initiative.
On May 20, 2019, the GCG issued MO 2019-05, ordering the deactivation of NorthRail.
The BCDA Board of Directors will take on the roles of administrator and liquidator for NorthRail, settling its liabilities, including separation incentive pay for affected officials and personnel.
The Government is directing the GCG to monitor implementation of MO 17, while the Department of Transportation, as the supervising agency, will continue to manage the liquidation and winding-up of NorthRail’s affairs.
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