ILOILO City – The revival of the Panay railway system would entail the relocation of over 5,000 houses built on the properties of state-owned Panay Railways, Inc. (PRI).
According to PRI director Cesar Capellan, they currently have 5,061 legal lessees. Their relocation is needed for the railway revival to start.
But the real number of affected houses could be higher, said Capellan, if the estimated 2,000 squatter houses are factored in.
In Iloilo City, PRI’s legal lessees to be affected are in the districts of Lapuz (38 houses), La Paz (385 houses) and Jaro (913 houses).
In Iloilo province, on the other hand, the affected lessees are in the towns of Pavia (848 houses), Santa Barbara (591 houses) and New Lucena (238 houses).
There are houses to be displaced, too in Pototan town, Passi City and Roxas City, said Capellan.
PRI is currently updating its list of legal lessees.
“Kon included, yong mga illegal siguro aabot ng mga 6,000 to 7,000 houses,” Capellan told Panay News.
Legal lessees are those who pay PRI rent. The current price is P25 to P28 per square meter.
Capellan assured PRI lessees there would relocation sites for them.
The relocation is part of a project feasibility study to be required of entities willing to revive the Panay railways, sad Capellan.
“We need a new feasibility study to include ang mga costing sang relocation, fencing, locomotives and other aspect of construction,” said Capellan.
He also said that affected households would be given ample lead time to relocate – five to six months.
Panay railway’s original route was 117 kilometers long and included 19 permanent and 10 flag stations. It connected the then towns of La Paz and Jaro (now districts of Iloilo City), Pavia, Santa Barbara, New Lucena, Pototan, Dingle, Dueñas, and Passi in Iloilo, and Dumarao, Dao, Panitan, Cuartero, and Loctugan in Capiz. It reached Roxas City.
In 1980s, a 12-kilometer spur was constructed from Dueñas to Calinog, Iloilo to serve a sugar refinery in Iloilo.
The Panay railway system ceased in 1983 due to mounting losses.
When it was operational in Iloilo City, the Panay railway trains ended at the passenger terminal along the wharf next to the Customs House and near where the current Iloilo City Hall stands. Trains ran across what is now the Drilon Bridge from La Paz district and down the bank of the Iloilo River to Muelle Loney at the Port of Iloilo./PN
