EVER wondered why the Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT-1) extension project in Cavite remains unfinished?
According to Ombudsman Crispin Remulla, the anti-graft body has received information that Senators Mark and Camille Villar are blocking the continuation of the LRT-1 extension project in Cavite, unless the government caves in to their condition.
“We are investigating… the project should’ve extended to Cavite by now, but we’re still verifying rumors that the Villar senators were going against the alignment. They want the rail system to traverse their lands,” said in a radio program.
Remulla said that the Villars want the extended LRT-1 to pass through their property along C5 Road in Las Piñas before reaching Bacoor, Cavite.
“There’s an alignment in Sucat, Parañaque where the project stopped, because they allegedly want it along C5, where they have properties,” Remulla said.
Previous reports claimed that the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) is in the process of acquiring right-of-way for Phase 2 and 3 of the project in view of the construction of the C5 Quirino flyover in Las Piñas, which occupied the area supposedly intended for LRT-1.
During the administration of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the Villars were accused of pressuring the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to realign the C-5 road extension to pass through and benefit the family’s extensive real estate properties in Las Piñas and Parañaque.
The realignment triggered a radical increase in the real estate value of their property.
