Remollo said he prepared the blueprint for the bridging project for what he termed as Visayas Integrated Corridor under a federal system of government. He said students from the Silliman University helped him finalize the blueprint.
“Once the federal system of government is implemented after a Charter change, we don’t even have to wait for the approval of the National Economic Development Authority to get the project going,” he said.
He stressed that the project is implementable under a public-private parthership program (PPP).
Remollo said many politicians in the Visayas are related to Duterte via the Veloso clan. “I believe all of them would back this project which would be a big boost to our economy,” he said.
“The bridges would connect Boracay, Iloilo, Guimaras, Bacolod, Cebu, Bohol, Leyte, Dumaguete in Negros Oriental and Dipolog towards the rest of Mindanao. Leyte is the birthplace of Duterte,” he noted.
He cited a 25-kilometer bridge in Korea, noting that the longest bridge that would connect Visayan islands would be shorter than this. “We are considering hanging or floating bridges or both. Between Dumaguete and Cebu, it’s only four kilometers. In the case of Boracay, only one kilometer of bridge would be needed to connect the island to Caticlan,” he also said.
Remollo cited the great potential of a bridge-connected Visayas. “There are rich Europeans who vacation on their yacht at Tmabobo Bay in Negros Oriental. They are there most of the year and these are foreigners who are reputed to be very rich. With the islands connected by bridges, these rich foreigners can have more geographic options for investments,” he noted.
“This project will attract more investors to Visayas and thus lead to decongestion of Metro Manila. The bridges can be toll bridges, but I think the bigger economic potential is on real estate development,” he added.
