We kinda saw this coming.
“The Supreme Court on Friday, August 1, stopped the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) and the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) from moving the common train station to the Ayala-owned Trinoma mall in Quezon City,” reports ABS-CBN News correspondent Liza Reyes on ABS-CBNnews.com.
The report explained that the SC injunction “follows a petition by mall giant SM Prime, which operates SM North EDSA mall, the original site of the common station.”
In a statement, SM Prime explained, “SM Prime is not seeking to delay the LRT1-Cavite Extension project. Rather, we are merely asking that the DOTC/LRTA and/or the winning bidder construct the Common Station component thereof in front of SM City North EDSA, in faithful compliance with the MOA.”
The report pointed out that the SC decision “puts in question the awarding of the PHP65-billion Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT-1) Cavite extension project set for Friday, August 1.”
The report likewise cited a Philippine Daily Inquirer report which said that “no less than the DOTC’s transport planning chief was in favor of locating the common station for several light rail trains at SM North EDSA, opposite of the department’s official stand.”
The planning chief supposedly mentioned that “moving the site to Trinoma from the original location of SM North, will only make the government more vulnerable to additional legal action.”
But the DOTC earlier argued that “having the common train station near Trinoma will mean about a billion pesos in savings for the government.”
The report didn’t name the DOTC planning chief, which makes us think that this whole thing is more complicated than we think.
So, what’s new?
