A post about the Philippine National Railways’ (PNR) Bicol Express rail line “finally making a comeback” is circulating on Facebook (FB). This needs context.
Shared as early as Feb. 23, the posts on the railway’s revival carried by different FB pages used the same railcar photos and carried this caption:
“Manila to Legazpi City from 12Hours to 4.5Hours?
The PNR Bicol Could Make It Reality
The “Bicol Express” train line is finally making a comeback. #bicolexpress #PNRBicol #traintobicol.”
The government is still trying to secure funding for the railway project, formally called the South Long Haul, putting its civil works on hold.
The Department of Transportation (DOTr) recently revealed that the Philippines is still in discussion with the Export-Import Bank of China (CEXIM) on the P175-billion project to construct a 639-km rail line linking Metro Manila to Southern Luzon provinces.
“The negotiations with China are still ongoing. In fact, the China Exim Bank technical team was here last December and looking into the progress of our right-of-way acquisition and [to] look at other studies being conducted by the Chinese consultants,” DOTr Undersecretary Jeremy Regino said on Feb. 26, according to reports.
In 2022, the Duterte administration signed a P142-billion contract with Chinese contractors for the project’s design, construction, and electromechanical works. Former rail transportation undersecretary Cesar Chavez, however, explained at a September 2023 budget hearing that the CEXIM bank has not approved the loan, leaving civil works suspended.
Last October, the DOTr said the government is no longer seeking Chinese loans and started looking for other funding sources for the project. Former finance secretary Benjamin Diokno confirmed in November that the government decided to let go of Beijing as funder due to the slow negotiations that delayed the project. The latest is that talks with China have resumed.
The South Long Haul, which seeks to cut travel time from Manila to Bicol from 12 hours by car to just six hours via train, is set to be completed in 2028.
The posts circulated more than two weeks after the DOTr’s town hall meeting where they laid out plans for the railway sectors, particularly the Mindanao Railway Project Phase 1.
VERA Files previously debunked other misleading claims on PNR Bicol Express. (Read Report claiming PNR Bicol Express has reopened MISLEADING)
At least 39 public FB posts carried the same content collectively garnering 12,976 interactions according to CrowdTangle. These were shared in FB groups such as BATO, NABUA, IRIGA, MARKET (created on Jan. 24, 2021) and FB Community Vloggers (created on May 14, 2018 as VLOGGERS GROUPS OF THE PHILIPPINES) and by FB pages like Viral Online (created on Aug. 21, 2017 as The News Online).
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(Editor’s Note: VERA Files has partnered with Facebook to fight the spread of disinformation. Find out more about this partnership and our methodology.)