MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Transportation on Friday said there was no truth to controversial reports that claimed stations of the Metro Manila Subway Project were realigned.
A transportation official said that the subway's alignment had been consistently the same as what had been developed by the project's Japan International Cooperation Agency Design Team in 2016, endorsed by the Transportation department in December the same year, approved by the subway's Inter-Agency Steering Committee in June 2017, and endorsed by the Metro Manila Council in July 2017.
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"The VERY SAME SUBWAY ALIGNMENT which is being questioned by a misguided columnist in his column is the SAME SUBWAY ALIGNMENT that was APPROVED BY THE NEDA BOARD in September 2017, and which was presented to the Quezon City Committee on Ways and Means during Committee Hearings held on [Jun. 6, 2019], [Oct. 15, 2019], and [Nov. 29, 2019],” Transportation Undersecretary for Railways Timothy John Batan said in a statement posted Friday.
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The underground rail line is projected to serve 370,000 passengers daily in its first year of full operations. Its partial operations are targeted by 2021.
The 35-kilometer subway project, once finished, will have a total of 15 stations, including a terminal station at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
The Transportation department broke ground on the first three stations — North Avenue, Tandang Sora and Quirino Highway — in February 2019.