Thank you for your introduction, Secretary Manny Bonoan.
[Please take your seats.]
The honorable members of the Senate, we have here Senator Cynthia Villar and Senator Mark Villar, who have been instrumental in helping us especially on the Las Piñas section of this project. So, thank you very much [applause]; members of the House of Representatives and of course, the Chairman of Metro Pacific Investments, Chairman and the CEO, Manny Pangilinan [applause]; and the former Secretary of Department of Public Works and Highways, Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation President and CEO, Babes Singson [applause]; Parañaque City Mayor Eric Olivarez [applause]; the other local government officials here present; my fellow workers in government; friends and partners from the private sector; other distinguished guests; ladies and gentlemen, good morning.
When I assumed office nearly two years ago, I brought with me a promise to carry on the building of infrastructure projects that will benefit our economy and our people.
It’s not just now Build, Build, Build but Build Better More because Filipinos deserve nothing less than that.
So, I stand here today to deliver on that promise with the groundbreaking of the CAVITEX-CALAX Link in Kawit, Cavite and the CAVITEX C5 Link Segment 3B in Parañaque City, and of course, the inauguration of the CAVITEX C5 Link Sucat Interchange.
These three milestone projects bring to reality our promise to transform the lives of millions of Filipinos, by systematically easing traffic flow in the greater Metro Manila area.
The [CAVITEX]-CALAX Link, originating from Kawit, Cavite, is a 1.2-kilometer connection whose length may be short, but its impact will be substantial.
With this, we anticipate a significant improvement in the road network connectivity from Kawit to the greater CALABARZON region.
By establishing a direct connection to CALAX, we also ease the traffic congestion at the busy intersection of Tirona Highway and Centennial Road.
A while ago, we just did a quick inaugural drive through the CAVITEX C5 Link Sucat Interchange. It is part of the newly completed CAVITEX C5 Link Expressway Segment 2.
I am pleased to have inaugurated this fitting centerpiece that will connect several major roads in Sucat with CAVITEX.
With this interchange, motorists will now be able to travel smoothly, safely, and conveniently from CAVITEX R1 to Sucat, Parañaque [City] within just five minutes.
It is a dramatic improvement from the usual one-hour travel time via existing public roads from Kawit, Cavite.
This segment is set to benefit around 23,000 vehicles a day. And I was just mentioning when that figure came out, I said, “maliit ‘yan.”
Before you know it, that 23,000 motorists that we are estimating for now, that will fill up very quickly as soon as they see the advantages of travelling on this — really what is the bypass and circular route around the city.
This will enhance our travel efficiency and ease commutes for our citizens.
Finally, we have the CAVITEX C5 Link Expressway Segment 3B. This is a two-kilometer road coming from Sucat Interchange going to E. Rodriguez in C5 Road, Taguig [City].
Upon completion, we expect that the travel time from CAVITEX R1 Expressway Section to SLEX/C5 Road will greatly be reduced from what is now 40 minutes to 10 minutes.
But these are very rough figures. We have to put into that — you have to impute into that formulation the delays that come on because of going into what I refer to sometimes are the surface roads that go into the city, into Metro Manila.
Pagka naka-iwas tayo doon, nakapakalaking bagay. And I think that again, our estimates — although already optimistic I think will very quickly become — will very quickly be filled up and surpassed.
So… But that is a good thing because that means that the traffic that is going from the different parts of the country through up north, through down south, no longer through Manila, will immediately enjoy all those benefits of a much easier, much faster, and much simpler and we don’t need to worry that much about traffic as we are having to do now. And that will again be to the benefit of our small businessmen, to our farmers, and all of those who require transportation for their livelihood.
So, it also marks the final step in completing the CAVITEX C5 Link Expressway, enhancing our transportation infrastructure network on behalf of countless motorists and passengers.
So, I now invite my fellow Filipinos to take advantage of our expressways. Experience firsthand the ease and convenience that these roads will bring to our daily lives.
This is especially so after receiving the good news that the PRA or the Philippine Reclamation Authority, as operator of the CAVITEX, proposed to suspend the collection of toll fees for all types of vehicles passing through the Manila-Cavite Toll Expressway in Taguig, Parañaque, Las Piñas, Bacoor, and Kawit for thirty days. [applause] This will introduce our new roads, expressways to those who are in need of that transport system.
So, we welcome this call and thank the PRA for its initiative to help mitigate the impact of rising fuel costs to our motorists. I now count on our Toll Regulatory Board to ensure the immediate implementation, for the benefit of the riding and the transport public.
Ladies and gentlemen, these flagship PPP projects are the results of a great deal of hard work, thorough planning, and collaborative efforts of the Philippine Reclamation Authority, the Cavitex Infrastructure Corporation, and of course its principal company, the Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation.
We thank you for making these monumental endeavors possible.
We also give our sincerest gratitude to the architects, the engineers, construction workers, the project managers, and all the individuals involved in these accomplishments.
You are the reason why we can turn blueprints into actual reality, and I assure you that your work, your patience, and your sacrifice will leave a lasting impact on our country and on our people.
And, we give thanks, of course, to the Filipino public for their patience, understanding, and support while we work to complete these large projects.
As I always say, unity is at the heart of these undertakings and we have come this far because we have worked together in building these structures.
So, let us carry on with that promise that we have made to Build Better More.
Let us not just build roads; let us build connections that will unite and bring us closer than ever, and create pathways that will be the stream through which our vibrant society will pulse.
With all of these, we are creating a nation where Filipinos may easily access and traverse our communities, and have a comfortable and productive time as they do it.
That is the vision of a Bagong Pilipinas that we are striving to build, and I know that it is a vision which we all share and care deeply about.
Maraming salamat po sa inyong lahat! [applause] Mabuhay po tayong lahat at mabuhay ang Bagong Pilipinas!
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