Providing a crucial development to the southern extension of the busy rail line.
On Thursday, September 10, the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) that secures with the Villar Group the donation of right-of-way for the construction of the Las Piñas station.
It is a future stop located in its namesake city and is a vital part of the planned extension from the current terminus at Dr. Santos in Sucat, Parañaque City to Bacoor, Cavite as part of the Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT-1) Cavite Extension Project.
Under the agreement, the Villar Group will hand over to the government approximately 4,465 square meters of land parcel needed for the construction of the Las Piñas station.
Thus, through this MOA, necessary activities for the remaining portions of the LRT-1 Cavite Extension Project can be done.
In a statement, Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez expressed gratitude to the Villar Group. “Malaking bagay ito sa mga kababayan nating commuter sa Las Piñas at Cavite para maibsan yung araw-araw nilang biyahe,” he added.
For his part, LRTA Administrator Atty. Hernando Cabrera emphasized the practical impact of the donation, particularly in reducing government expenditures and helping accelerate the completion of the project.
“This donation will allow the government to save a significant amount of public funds. More importantly, it will help us move the project forward and complete it much sooner,” he said.
Villar Group and Golden Haven Memorial Park Corporate Secretary Ferdinand Sabillo said the donation is intended to help make daily travel easier for commuters, particularly those in Las Piñas, Parañaque, and surrounding areas.
“We will always be ready and willing to support the government in any way we can to help make the lives of our fellow Filipinos easier,” Sabillo said.
Once completed, the LRT-1 Cavite Extension Project is expected to service additional 300,000 passengers daily, reducing travel time from Baclaran in Parañaque to Bacoor in Cavite from its original travel time of 1 hour and 10 minutes to just 25 minutes.
Currently, the Light Rail Manila Corporation (LRMC) operates Line 1 under a public-private partnership agreement.
Manila’s LRT Line 1, which opened in 1984, is the oldest rapid transit line in Southeast Asia, rivaling the world-famous Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system of Singapore that opened in 1987 and Bangkok, Thailand’s Sky Train which began operating in 1999.
However, unlike its peers, it is not as agressive in expanding its network as it took fourteen years, when the Balintawak and Roosevelt (FPJ Avenue) stations opened in 2010, before the first phase of the Cavite Extension comprising stations from Redemptorist to Dr. Santos started operating in November 2024.
