Congressman Edgar Mary Sarmiento, representative of the 1st district of Samar, submitted House Bill 9468 on May 25, 2021. This bill sought to adopt a 30-year National Infrastructure Program, titled "The Future of Mobility in the Philippines 2045 Act", that included the following provision about the Mindanao Railway:
Sec 12. Core National Infrastructure Projects
. . .
a. Transport and Logistics Infrastructure
. . .
2. Rail and Other Mass Transport
a) Long-haul rail systems
. . .
4) Mindanao Rail Networks, Tagum-Davao-Digos, with extensions to Butuan, Cagayan de Oro, General Santos, Iligan, Surigao, and Zamboanga
Status and summary of the bill
AN ACT ADOPTING A 30-YEAR NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE PROGRAM
Session No.: 18-2RS-023
Significance: NATIONAL
Date Filed: 2021-05-25
Principal Author/s: SARMIENTO, EDGAR S.
Date Read: 2021-06-01
Primary Referral: TRANSPORTATION
Status: Pending with the Committee on TRANSPORTATION since 2021-06-01
Explanatory note
Key portions of the explanatory note for this bill appears below:
The bill seeks to legislate a 30-year National Transportation Infrastructure Program. It shall be entitled as “The Future of Mobility in the Philippines 2045
Act.” The year 2045 marks the 100th anniversary of the country’s liberation from Japanese occupation. At that point, majority of the vital projects legislated under
this measure must have been completed as part of our roadmap for transportation infrastructure.
. . .
The measure provides a list of core projects to be implemented between 2023 and 2052. It may be updated every five years by the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), in coordination with the Oversight and Implementing Agencies. NEDA shall also be primarily responsible for formulating the details of the infrastructure program. To ensure funding, the NEDA and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) shall ensure that the total budget allocation by the Government for the program shall be at least five percent (5%) of the Gross Domestic Product.
Text of the bill
The text of the bill is available here.