The tough-talking candidate from Mindanao, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte revealed during an interview with the media that once elected as president of the Philippines, he will be happy if he could manage to build for the country a total of three major train systems: the Mindanao Railway, Manila-Bicol Railway, and Manila-Batangas Railway.
During Mayor Duterte’s meeting with the tourism industry sectors in Pasay City, the 71-year-old Mayor Duterte said that in order to fulfill his dream for the Philippines, his ambitious project will be finance by China only if there is no other way of getting funds for the said project.
Mayor Duterte was quoted as saying “If I do not have the money to put up the capital to build equipment [to extract the oil], I will just wait for my royalty or my share of the oil. Just build me a train around Mindanao, a railway, and a railway from Manila to Bicol and Manila to Batangas, to the tip, I’d be happy. My 6 years, tapos na ako (I’m done) if that is the only [thing] I can get from this,” he said.
He previously said he is open to joint exploration of the West Philippine Sea, which is rumored to have deposits of oil. The economic power China is best known worldwide as one of the country that has built train systems for other countries like what it did in Nairobi, Kenya. The Chinese government also builds their first train system in the United States, it would link Los Angeles to Las Vegas.
According to Mayor Duterte building a Mindanao railway system will be one of his priorities if elected, because trains would spur development in other regions and at the same time, decongest Metro Manila. He also noted that there is a need for a high-speed train from Clark Airport in Pampanga to Manila.
The Davao City Mayor who is now running for president also promised the tourism sector that he will do his best to provide security among foreigners once elected as President of the Philippines in the upcoming 2016 national election.
