In the MTPDP 2004-2010, the development of the country's transport infrastructure was principally aimed at the decentralization of progress and development by providing opportunities for growth, especially in regions and areas adjacent to Metro Manila. Towards that end, the following major thematic areas in transport were pursued and became the primary focus of both public and private investment: (a) the development of the nautical highway system and road-roll-on/roll-off (RORO) terminal system linking the entire country; (b) the development of tourism infrastructure to provide access to major tourism destinations; (c) the affirmative action for peace and development in Mindanao and other deeply impoverished areas; and (d) the decongestion of Metro Manila and the spread of development to adjacent regions.
Facilities for RORO have been built or rehabilitated in 22 ports identified under the Strong Republic Nautical Highway (SRNH), with 42 RORO ships operating in the identified SRNH routes run by 25 shipping operators as of the end of 2009. Economic gains have been recorded in connection with the intermodal road-RORO terminal system (RRTS) connecting Mindanao, Visayas, and Luzon, with a reduction in travel time by around 12 hours and a reduction of transport cost by 37-43 percent for passengers and 24-34 percent for cargo. The Subic Bay Port Development Project was also completed and was expected to generate significant benefits with the increase in the port's container capacity from 100,000 to 600,000 TEUs (20-foot equivalent units).
The Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx), linked to the existing North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), was also completed and has been operational, reducing travel time from Subic to Manila and from Tarlac to Manila. The construction of the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Toll Expressway (TPLEx) extending the SCTEx from Tarlac to La Union is ongoing and is expected to relieve traffic congestion along the existing Manila North Road. In the Southern Luzon Corridor, the completion of the Batangas Port Development Project and the Southern Tagalog Arterial Road (STAR) Expressway will pave the way for the development of the industrial belt south of Metro Manila.
With respect to roads and bridges, the completion of substantial improvement and rehabilitation is expected to reduce transport costs and induce economic activities, particularly in the rural areas. As of December 2009, 22,468 km. (75.15%) of all national roads had been paved, of which of 13,525 km. were national arterial roads and 8,943 km. national secondary roads. Meanwhile 93 percent of the total 314,456 linear meters of national bridges have been made permanent. As for local roads, of the 30,924.76 km. of existing provincial roads, 30.2 percent or 9,345.15 km. have been paved, while 69.5 percent, or 21,464.50 km, are unpaved, with 0.4 percent or 115.11 km. of still undetermined condition. Of the 14,810.44 km. of city roads, 61.7 percent, or 9,138.348 km. have been paved and 35.8 percent, or 5,308.220 km, are unpaved, with 2.5 percent or 363.872 km. of undetermined quality.
Major tourist destinations identified in the previous Plan included Cebu-Bohol-Camiguin, Clark-Subic, Cordillera, Davao, Ilocos, Boracay, and Palawan, among others. To serve Panay Island and its immediate environs, the New Iloilo Airport was completed in June 2007. The New Bacolod (Silay) Airport for Negros Island destinations was inaugurated and opened for operations on January 18, 2008. The Caticlan Airport is currently being rehabilitated, and the Kalibo Airport's terminal building was initially expanded to cater to the increasing visitor traffic to Boracay Island and nearby destinations. To serve the Cordillera area, the facilities of the San Fernando Airport in La Union were upgraded, while the first phase of improvements on the Busuanga (Coron) Airport in Palawan was substantially completed.
On the goal of developing Subic-Clark as an Asian logistics center, the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) approved and published the IRR of EO 253 expanding air services at Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) and Subic Bay International Airport (SBIA). Developments at DMIA include the expansion and rehabilitation of the existing passenger terminal and the installation of radar equipment to enhance the safety of flights, as well as to ensure round-the-clock airport operations even in adverse weather. The CAB and the RP Air Panel negotiated air services agreements (ASAs) from 2006 to 2010 with Singapore, Turkey, Oman, Russia, Libya, Cambodia, United Kingdom, Spain, Brunei, Australia, Kuwait, UAE, Qatar, Malaysia, Finland, Iran, Thailand, Netherlands, Hong Kong, Canada, Macau, Palau, Bahrain, People's Republic of China, India, Japan, Republic of Korea, Nepal, and New Zealand. These agreements resulted in increases in capacity entitlements, new routes, more access points, multiple airline designation, and airline cooperative arrangements. The CAB was able to negotiate an average of 200-300 tons capacity per week for cargo, which covers Manila, Subic, Clark, and other points in the Philippines.
While there are completed and ongoing transport projects implemented through PPP under the BOT Law, private-sector participation in transport infrastructure development has been continually enhanced to augment the government's budgetary support for capital investment. This effort included the development and construction of expressways, railways, and airports; the privatization of individual ports or groups of ports; and the operation and maintenance of transport facilities. For the roads subsector, the JICA-assisted Master Plan on High Standard Highway Network Development, which identified a long list of potential PPP expressway projects, was completed in July 2010. In addition, the Preparatory Survey for PPP Infrastructure Development Project, which aims to identify bottlenecks in PPP project implementation and select priority infrastructure projects, is underway and close to completion.
Some of the maintenance of land transport assets (i.e., maintenance of national, provincial, and city roads nationwide; improvement of drainage; installation of adequate traffic lights, and road safety and pollution monitoring devices) had been undertaken in the last few years using revenues from the Motor Vehicle Users' Charge (MVUC). Objectivity in the prioritization and allocation of resources for national road maintenance was also enhanced using a computerized system with comprehensive and up-to-date technical and economic criteria and data. For local roads, an incentive-based policy reform program is currently underway. This uses incentives or grants to finance road maintenance and rehabilitation to motivate LGUs to institute policy reforms in local government systems and processes, and improve performance in road rehabilitation and maintenance and other service delivery.
Despite notable accomplishments in the transport sector, the institutional and bureaucratic reforms proposed under the previous Plan seeking to separate the operation and regulation functions of transport agencies have not been achieved. This notwithstanding, the civil aviation subsector underwent a degree of reorganization with the enactment of RA 9497 on March 4, 2008 creating the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP). RA 9497 grants the new body fiscal autonomy through the corporatization of the preceding civil aviation agency, while retaining its technical regulation functions over the civil aviation industry. The economic regulation functions meanwhile rest with the CAB. There is a need to pursue a full restructuring of the air transport organizations as well as those for the ports and for rail transport.
To become globally competitive and address safety issues, especially those raised by civil aviation stakeholders, the government is implementing the Communications Navigation Surveillance/Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM) system in accordance with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards. A similar project was completed in 2004-the Nationwide Air Navigation Facilities Modernization Project (Phase 3)-to replace ageing air navigation equipment.
Likewise, maritime safety measures have been pursued in domestic shipping in compliance with International Safety Management (ISM) and National Safety Management (NSM) codes and the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) Ship Safety Inspection System. Ship inspection has also been enhanced through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)-assisted Project on the Enhancement of Ship Inspection completed in 2005. A MOA between MARINA and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) to implement ship safety inspection was signed on September 14, 2005. To strictly monitor compliance by ships and to enforce maritime safety rules and regulations by deputized maritime enforcers, MARINA, on March 16, 2009, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the PCG, Philippine National Police-Maritime Group (PNP-MG), the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP), and the Liga ng mga Barangay (LNB). In 2010, a total of 356,831 mandatory predeparture inspections (MPDI), 992 port state control inspections, and 5,476 Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) compliance inspections were conducted by the PCG.
Compliance with international maritime security standards has been implemented through the adoption of the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code. Vessel Traffic Management Systems (VTMS) have been installed in the Port of Manila, Corregidor Island, and the Port of Batangas following the security provisions of the Code. There are plans for the installation of similar standards in other major ports.
In 2005, the Study on Wooden-Hulled Ships (WHS) recommended standards, rules, and regulations for the continued operation of existing wooden-hulled ships, and the construction, safety, and operation of new ones. On October 27, 2010, the Rulebook on the Construction and Repair of Wooden-Hulled Ships and Wooden-Hulled Boats with Outriggers was approved by the MARINA Board. As part of the domestic shipping fleet modernization program, MARINA entered into a MOA with the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) Maritime Leasing Corporation (now, DBP Leasing Corporation) on June 2, 2008. The aim is to provide loan facilities to qualified ship owners or operators who are interested in the acquisition of RORO ships to be deployed in SRNH routes. As of June 2010, seven companies have availed of the said facility involving the acquisition of 12 RORO ships. EO 588, entitled "Strengthening the Philippine Shipbuilding and Ship Repair Sector and Instituting Measures to Promote Its Growth and Development", was issued on December 8, 2006. This mandated the formulation of a Comprehensive Development Plan for the Philippine Shipbuilding and Ship Repair Industry that was completed on October 16, 2007 and subsequently endorsed to the Office of the President on December 3, 2007 together with the draft memorandum circular directing the implementation of the Plan.
To further promote the development of domestic shipping, RA 9295 entitled an "Act Promoting the Development of Philippine Domestic Shipping, Shipbuilding, Ship Repair and Ship Breaking, Ordaining Reforms in Government Policies towards Shipping in the Philippines and for Other Purposes" was enacted on May 3, 2004. The law deregulated the domestic shipping industry by allowing domestic operators to set their own passenger or cargo rates, hence promoting investments in the industry.
Notwithstanding the accomplishments in the transport sector, several issues and challenges still remain to be addressed, such as the following:
Lack of integrated and coordinated transport network
A major shortcoming of the sector is the absence of an integrated and well-coordinated national transport plan that will guide the prioritized funding and implementation of transport projects, as well as the physical planning and intermodality of transport infrastructure. This situation is likely a consequence of the current institutional setup characterized by weak coordination, regulation, and oversight for transport policies and plans.
The lack of integration between national and local government plans and programs/projects is also a major problem that results in gaps in the transport network, contributing to the low capacity and quality of infrastructure facilities. This is partly a consequence of the insufficient capacity of LGUs to finance and manage local projects, particularly roads, and the lack of national government funds to maintain the existing national transport infrastructure base.
Global assessments of the country's transport infrastructure network indicate that its quality and capacity remain low. These deficiencies stem mainly from inadequate and unreliable funding for construction and development of transport infrastructure, as well as for the management and maintenance of existing transport infrastructure assets.
To promote productivity and trade competitiveness, seamless multimodal transport networks and logistics systems are needed. The MTPDP 2004-2010 recognized the need for a transport logistics system that will decongest Metro Manila by ensuring efficient linkages between its business centers and nearby provinces. In 2007, the Subic-Clark-Manila-Batangas (SCMB) Corridor, which connects the three regions accounting for two-thirds of the country's GDP, was envisioned as a major transshipment and logistics hub in the Asian region following the creation of the Luzon Urban Beltway (LUB) Super Region. The SCMB Corridor handles more than 80 percent of the volume of the national cargo throughput, but its potential is constrained by inefficient logistics operations and infrastructure support. This has primarily resulted in high transport costs of goods and services that has made the corridor less competitive. What is needed is a seamless multimodal logistics system along the SCMB Corridor to support intraregional trade and investment, an increase in the level of services of an integrated transport system, and an efficient flow of commodities, supplies, and inputs to tourism areas and various economic and industrial zones. Other strategic logistics corridors need to be identified and developed in a similar manner.
Overlapping and conflicting functions of transport and other concerned agencies
The institutional structure of the transport sector needs to be studied thoroughly to determine the most efficient institutional setup and the corresponding institutional reforms to improve the quality of transport service, and to prevent conflicts between different modes of transport that serve the same purpose. A requisite, however, is a long-term policy framework to achieve an integrated and well-coordinated national transport plan. This policy framework would also address governance issues in the sector by raising the level of accountability of decision-makers and serve as the basis for a multimodal transport plan to guide investment planning, programming, and prioritization, among others. Specific policies related to governance may be included in the policy framework to ensure that the public sector is performance-oriented and that outcome-based services are promptly delivered.
Transport safety and security concerns
Road accidents are now the fourth leading cause of death in the Philippines according to the DOH. The ADB Regional Safety Program published in 2005 estimated the national cost of traffic accidents for the Philippines at US$1.9 billion (or roughly 2.8 % of GDP). In addition, truck overloading continues to be a problem. According to a JICA-DPWH axle load survey in 2004 and a DPWH survey in 2005, about 11 percent of the 3-axle trucks and 12 percent of the 4-axle semitrailers were overloaded.
On the other hand, the maritime subsector's record in the area of safety is alarmingly bad, with an average of more than 160 accidents per year over the last decade. Maritime accidents are a major problem owing to a combination of factors such as: (a) a mostly retro-fitted and aging fleet; (b) underappreciation of cargo balancing on-board vessels; (c) loss of experienced crews to foreign shipping; and (d) natural disturbances.
Additionally, the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) of the US has downgraded the category of the Philippines' aviation capability in providing safety certification and oversight for international carriers, citing technical and regulatory deficiencies, among others.
Underdeveloped transport facilities in conflict-affected and impoverished areas
As a result of armed conflict and inequity in the distribution of income, economic activity and investments have been constrained in some areas of the country. In particular, conflict-ridden areas have experienced damages in their transportation network and have suffered from the disrupted delivery of basic services, thereby adversely affecting the people's welfare and the quality of life.
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4 Source: Updated MTPDP 2008-2010