Villar Family Willing to Donate Land for LRT-1 Cavite Extension, DOTr Chief Says

MANILA, Philippines — Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez said the Villar family is willing to donate land needed for the completion of the Light Rail Transit Line 1 Cavite Extension, dismissing reports that right-of-way acquisition remains a major obstacle to the project. “As a matter of fact, the Villar family wants to donate their land,” Lopez said Wednesday in an interview with DZRH’s Dos for Dos program. READ: DOTr dismisses LRT-1 extension row with Villars The transportation chief said there is no significant problem involving the acquisition of properties required for the remaining sections of the railway extension. The proposed donation, he added, could help accelerate construction of the project’s Cavite segment. Lopez also addressed a proposal to dismantle the C-5 Quirino flyover to facilitate the completion of the extension. He said the Department of Transportation must first conduct a traffic study before deciding whether the structure should be removed.The government is also considering a design that would allow the flyover and the elevated railway to “co-exist,” according to Lopez. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. earlier instructed the transportation secretary to immediately resolve right-of-way concerns affecting the LRT-1 Cavite Extension, one of the government’s major railway projects in southern Metro Manila and Cavite. The Light Rail Transit Authority has committed to completing the entire extension before the end of the Marcos administration’s term in 2028. Phase 1, which is already operational, extends the railway from Baclaran Station in Pasay City to Dr. Santos Station in Parañaque City. It covers five new stations: Redemptorist-ASEANA, MIA Road, PITX, Ninoy Aquino Avenue and Dr. Santos.Phases 2 and 3 will bring the line farther south through Las Piñas and into Cavite. The remaining stations—Las Piñas, Zapote and Niog—have yet to be constructed. Once the full extension is completed, the LRT-1 will provide a direct railway connection between communities in Cavite, Las Piñas and Parañaque and key areas in Metro Manila.