With ‘no time to waste,’ Dizon to bring in former transport officials

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon says that although some undersecretaries will keep their posts, there will be new ones coming in to join the department

MANILA, Philippines – Newly minted Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon said he has tapped several transport officials from the previous administration to join him as he leads the Department of Transportation (DOTr).

Without naming anyone, Dizon said that although some undersecretaries will keep their posts, there will be new ones coming in to join the department. The official announcement of their appointments will be made by the Office of the President.

“There’s no time to waste and there’s no room to learn the ropes… so we really need to bring in people who have the experience and who are professional,” Dizon said in a media briefing on Friday, February 21.

“Remember… even if they worked in previous administrations, these are professional people. These are people who joined government, who by the way, were already in the private sector and obviously enjoying the fruits of the private sector — the less levels of stress in the private sector. But they are professionals and they know what to do,” he added.

Dizon officially took his oath before President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday, a week after he was appointed to the position.

He takes the helm of the DOTr three years into Marcos’ term after airline executive Jaime Bautista, Marcos’ first transportation secretary, resigned due to health reasons.

Dizon said the president had given him orders to “fast-track” big-ticket transportation projects. Among those mentioned were the Metro Manila Subway project and the North-South Commuter Railway System, which he noted will be “game-changers” for the commuting public.

He emphasized that the right-of-way (ROW) acquisition — a perennial problem of the country’s public infrastructure projects — would require “whole-of-government” efforts. The DOTr will be looking into working with local government officials and private partners to smooth out ROW issues. (READ: Full right-of-way acquisition for LRT1 Cavite Extension’s last stations eyed by 2025)

Meanwhile, the new transport secretary also said they are planning to improve the country’s regional airports to support local tourism.

“Our roadmap is really to privatize,” Dizon said.

Starting April, he plans to conduct regular briefings on the progress of the government’s priority transportation projects. – Rappler.com