PANAY RAILWAYS:

WHAT IT WAS AND WHAT IT COULD BECOME

I’m sure that many Panayanons such as myself,  were quite surprised at President Duterte’s mention of rebuilding Panay railways.  It is no secret that President Duterte wanted to build inter-city railways between cities in the Philippines, he has been telegraphing this even before he was sworn in.  However, most expected him to build them only in Mindanao and Luzon where there are great distances to cover and trains would actually make sense.  But, I must admit that I was quite chuffed to hear that he was considering its rebuilding.  Here are his exact words:

So, we shall also pursue rail projects in Metro Manila and the major key-points in the country including the Mindanao Rail Project [applause]. Hindi ako nagyayabang pero totoo talaga ‘to. Well, depende sa federal. But six years, lalabas talaga ito. I assure you because it’s going to materialize:  Rail projects,  the Davao Transit System, the Cebu Transit System, the North and South Luzon Railways and the Panay Railways project. Kita mo? Panay. Eh taga saan si ano? Eh 'di Panay. Panay ang bigay natin para… [laughter and applause]

Of course, the quote will not be complete without a playful little stab at the good Senator from Iloilo.

What it was sabihin naman ni Senator Drilon, 'Binack-bite ka dito. Lalagyan daw nung ano, yung island mo ng train. May tawa pa.' Binaback-bite ka dito. Mag-sumbong man 'yan. Tingnan mo 'yan.

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What it was

Panay railways was once famous for being the only railway line outside of Luzon.  The railway began construction in 1907 with one crew starting from Roxas City, Capiz and another crew in Iloilo City, they built the railway from both ends until they met in the middle.  Service began immediately after its inauguration in 1912 with freight and passenger services.  In Iloilo city, the tracks ran all the way up to the port area or Muelle Loney.  Sadly, the railway ceased passenger operations in 1985 and freight operations in 1989 after competition from trucks and buses rendered it unprofitable.

At its height, the Panay Railways had 5 locomotives plying the line at regular times of the day.  There were steam locomotives and later on, there were diesel electric locomotives.  They have all since been scrapped, save for one lone survivor known as Engine 114, which stands a shell of its former self.

Engine 114

(Source: Skyscrapercity forums)

Panay Railways still exists as a shell corporation as the company itself still owns substantial property.  Some of the tracks, especially at Passi are used by enterprising people as a makeshift push cart transportation system.

Panay Railways Office

What it will be

Honestly, nobody knows how this is going to turn out, or if the project will ever come into fruition.  The revival of the railway has been teased since the time of President Ramos.  However, reviving the original line running from Iloilo City to Roxas City is very remote.  The original tracks are in disrepair, the bridges have been demolished and the rolling stock are in no condition to run ever again, though, lets not discount that possibility.

Its possible though for new routes to be opened.  An Iloilo City to Caticlan route or routes passing through Antique would be very nice.  Perhaps this will pave the way for inter-island rail tracks—a train that may go through an underwater tunnel to Mindoro or a bridge to Negros.  Indeed, a wider network may finally provide an impetus to construct a “trans-Philippine” rail network in the spirit of the Shinkansen train of Japan.  Just imagine a railway network from Tugegarao City to Davao, what tremendous opportunities this may bring!

Just imagine a railway network from Tugegarao City to Davao, what tremendous opportunities this may bring!

The Shinkansen or bullet train

On a less ambitious scale, the rebirth of Panay railways may come in the form of a commuter rail network servicing Metro Iloilo and the environs.  This may take the form of a tram or Automated Guideway Transit or AGT.

DOST is currently testing a locally produced version of an AGT.
Is this the shape of things to come?

In any case, the mention of Panay railways in the grand scheme of things may just be that—a mention.  Ultimately, nothing will come to fruition.  Nevertheless, it was a very pleasant surprise for many a Panayanon.  And it just goes to show that maybe, with a little vision and a dream, a modern and prosperous Philippines may yet be achieved.

ON THE ARMS DISPARITY BETWEEN PHILIPPINES AND CHINA

I just had a discussion with a Makati resident regarding Vice President Binay and why Makati residents will consistently and continuously keep voting for him in spite of the numerous allegations of corruption which, if true would mean that his dynasty squandered billions and billions of pesos. Well, to be honest, she was a bit of a simpleton, her main argument was that the “poor” keep getting benefits under Binay, hence they will keep voting for him - damn poor argument and full of holes.

To begin with, Makati City is possibly the richest city in the Philippines and one with a relatively small resident population. The fact that there are still “poor” people in Makati speaks volumes on the utilization of capital.

That leads me to the thesis of this article:  The way we handle our capital leaves much to be desired. Plans get bogged down for want of corruption, corruption saps funding and capital that would result in first class projects.

Contrast this with the Chinese Approach

We often hear of people complaining of the poor roads, housing and other infrastructure in an area, say a city. Doesn’t it just put you to shame that the Chinese can just go ahead and build new infrastructure seemingly in the middle of nowhere, while over in this country, a road reblocking is already considered a huge undertaking!?

Chinese Armed Forces

It isn’t just infrastructure where the Philippines lags behind China. We also lag behind militarily.

(Above) Chinese “infrastructure” project in the West Philippine Sea

versus

Philippine Naval Installation, the BRP Sierra Madre

[Source: Both pictures are from Rappler]

The problem with the Philippines is that we never had a “martial tradition”. Procurements for the military are treated in the same way as any other government project rather than as a class of their own. This means that if we buy aircraft, for example, we have to put out a public bidding, everyone’s going to know how much our budget is, etc.

Naturally, the media is going to pick all this up and all of our tech acquisitions, both planned and accomplished are going to go on TV, print etc.

A little secrecy helps

Chinese don’t need to fly spy satellites over us if the media keeps this up. All they need to do is download the iWantTV app and watch the news for everything relating to troop movements and deployment.

This is really a problem with our gossippy, I-can-piss-higher-than-you braggadocio culture. A new helicopter is big news! You can count on ABS-CBN showing off our latest frigate and letting the entire WORLD know exactly where it is anchored.

The 2015 SONA

The President’s last State of the Nation Address went into the details of the AFP modernization program. One of the highlights of the 2015 SONA was an interview with a Philippine Airforce Man on how, “the long wait is over” - That we are finally going to start receiving aircraft to beef up the Philippine Air Force (PAF). You will see this PMA graduate stating the obvious in the clip below.

In a country like ours, things like these make the SONA!

Clearly, we’ve got to improve our own domestic capacity for infrastructure projects and arms/equipment manufacture. Government can start by following the National Socialist model of partnering with local manufacturers and helping them grow.