DILIMAN, Quezon City — Despite having secured a permit to proceed with building the Metro Manila Subway underneath an exclusive subdivision in Quezon City, the Department of Transportation (DoTr) is still facing issues on right-of-way to fast-track the project.

“We were able to get the permit to entry sa White Plains, so okay na iyon. The next one are the other subdivisions,” transportation secretary Vivencio 'Vince' Dizon disclosed last week.

However, since the tunnel boring machine was installed there in January, it has only dug up about 88 meters going to Ortigas, as right-of-way issues prevent the contractor from going full speed ahead.

“Ang problema talaga is kulang sila sa area na pagtrabahuhan. Nagkukulang ang gobyerno sa pagbigay ng right-of-way… Kasi may area na ibibigay, ‘pag wala nang area, hihinto sila sa paggawa, which is costly,” Dizon revealed during an inspection of the subway station in Camp Aguinaldo.

Still, the transportation chief maintained his marching orders to the project's engineers: "Keep going, don’t stop" even as he also gave a commitment to speed up the government’s acquisition of land needed in pursuing the construction of the subway system.

“Nag-commit na ako sa kanila na makukuha iyong right-of-way doon hanggang Ortigas station within the next few months. Kung ayaw ibenta ng mga (property owners), wala tayong choice kundi mag-expropriate,” Dizon asserted.

“Kaya nananawagan na ako sa mga kababayan natin na iyong right-of-way ng subway at iba pa nating priority projects tulad ng North South Commuter Railway, e siguro mag-cooperate na lang tayo sa gobyerno,” he added.

Dizon announced that overall, right-of-way acquisition for the entire subway project is 59.12 percent complete while construction is at nearly 20 percent.

The previous leadership of the DOTr earlier said that partial subway operations could begin by 2028 or 2029. But Dizon said that would already be impossible to do given the amount of delays. Instead, he said the agency would work to make that happen by 2032.

“Dapat sana 2030 tapos na ito . . . Iyong two-year delay ibig sabihin two years na mawawala na magagamit na ito ng mga kababayan natin. Ang laki ng maitutulong ng subway para maibsan hindi lang iyong commuting time kundi pati iyong traffic,” he enthused.

The ambitious ₱488-billion subway projec—a first of its kind in the Philippines—will span 17 stations from Valenzuela City to Bicutan in Taguig and will have a spur line going to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.