Instruct: Given a question, retrieve documents that can help answer the question.
Query: What is the national agency governing rail transportation in the Philippines?
The Philippine National Railways is a state-owned railway system in the Philippines, organized under the Department of Transportation (DOTr) as an attached agency. Established during the Spanish colonial period, the modern PNR was developed only in 1984. It formerly operated around 479 kilometres of track on the island of Luzon, where most Philippine rail infrastructure is located. Because of this, PNR has become synonymous with the Philippine rail system.
In December 2017 Japan reported to Thailand that construction of a Shinkansen-style bullet train between the two cities would cost the Thai government 420 billion baht (US$12.9 billion). The line would consist of 300 km/h trains traveling between the two cities in 3.5 hours, stopping at 12 stations "en route". Fares would start at 80 baht, with a surcharge of 1.5 baht per kilometre. Full fares are expected to be just over 1,000 baht. Reacting to the high cost estimate, the Thai government instructed the Transport Ministry to study the possibility of reducing the train's maximum speed to 180–200 km/h in an effort to cut costs.
Caraga Region is one of the regions notably located in the eastern seaboard of the Philippines. With its geographic location facing the Pacific Ocean and famous Philippine Trench, the Region is prone to various weather conditions and geologic phenomenon like, but not limited to, typhoon, tsunami and other coastal surges and seismic activities. With these, DENR-MGB13 is expeditiously utilizing its human and financial resources to generate geohazard maps as necessary source of information to spatial planners and other government and non-government agencies working for public safety and disaster management.
The Anti-Distracted Driving Act took effect on May 18, 2017 under the new administration of President Rodrigo Duterte. Under the law, drivers are only allowed to use hands-free functions of gadgets, such as speaker phones, provided that these do not block their line of sight. The implementing agency is the Land Transportation Office (LTO) under the Department of Transportation that was tasked to promulgate the necessary implementing rules and regulations within 60 days from the effectivity of the Act. It also ordered the LTO, the Philippine Information Agency, the Department of Education, the Department of the Interior and Local Government and the Philippine National Police (PNP) to undertake a nationwide information, education and communication campaign for a period of 6 months from the effectivity of the Act. The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, the PNP and other law enforcement agencies are required to enforce the act.
On May 14, 1935, an election to fill the newly created office of President of the Commonwealth of the Philippines was won by Manuel L. Quezon (Nacionalista Party) and a Filipino government was formed on the basis of principles superficially similar to the U.S. Constitution. The Commonwealth as established in 1935 featured a very strong executive, a unicameral national assembly, and a supreme court composed entirely of Filipinos for the first time since 1901. The new government embarked on an ambitious agenda of establishing the basis for national defense, greater control over the economy, reforms in education, improvement of transport, the colonization of the island of Mindanao, and the promotion of local capital and industrialization. The Commonwealth however, was also faced with agrarian unrest, an uncertain diplomatic and military situation in South East Asia, and uncertainty about the level of United States commitment to the future Republic of the Philippines.
A series of transcontinental railroads built over the last third of the 19th century created a nationwide transportation network that united the country by rail. The first of these, the "Pacific Railroad", was built by the Central Pacific Railroad and Union Pacific Railroad to link the San Francisco Bay at Alameda, California, with the nation's existing eastern railroad network at Council Bluffs, Iowa/Omaha, Nebraska, thereby creating the world's first transcontinental railroad when it opened in 1869. Its construction was made possible by the US government under Pacific Railroad Acts of 1862, 1864, and 1867.
The Shinkansen, or "bullet trains", as they are often known, are the high-speed rail trains that run across Japan. The of 8 Shinkansen lines run on completely separate lines from their commuting train counterparts, with a few exceptions. Shinkansen take up a large portion of the long distance travel in Japan, with the whole system carrying over 10 billion passengers in its lifetime. 1,114 journeys are made daily, with the fastest train being the JR East E5 and E6 series trains, which operate at a maximum speed of . Shinkansen trains are known to be very safe, with no accident-related deaths or injuries from passengers in its 50-plus year history. Shinkansen trains are also known to be very punctual, following suit with all other Japanese transport; in 2003, the average delay per train on the Tokaido Shinkansen was a mere 6 seconds. Japan has been trying to sell its Shinkansen technology overseas, and has struck deals to help build systems in India, Thailand, and the United States.
In early 2006, members of the Ateneo de Manila University and affiliated Jesuit institutions were part of movements calling for discernment, action, and sustainable solutions to the deeply divisive political issues that continue to rock Filipino society. The Ateneo de Manila University also intensified its social development efforts, launching Kalinga Leyte, a program for the long-term rehabilitation of Southern Leyte, with its GK partners. It expanded the scope of its involvement with Gawad Kalinga, supporting new initiatives throughout Nueva Ecija and in other provinces such as Cotobato and Quezon.
When Democrat Woodrow Wilson became U.S. president in 1913, new policies were launched designed to gradually lead to Philippine independence. In 1902 U.S. law established Filipinos citizenship in the Philippine Islands; unlike Hawaii in 1898 and Puerto Rico in 1918, they did not become citizens of the United States. The Jones Law of 1916 became the new basic law, promised eventual independence. It provide for the election of both houses of the legislature.In socio-economic terms, the Philippines made solid progress in this period. Foreign trade had amounted to 62 million pesos in 1895, 13% of which was with the United States. By 1920, it had increased to 601 million pesos, 66% of which was with the United States. A health care system was established which, by 1930, reduced the mortality rate from all causes, including various tropical diseases, to a level similar to that of the United States itself. The practices of slavery, piracy and headhunting were suppressed but not entirely extinguished.
A new educational system was established with English as the medium of instruction, eventually becoming a "lingua franca" of the Islands. The 1920s saw alternating periods of cooperation and confrontation with American governors-general, depending on how intent the incumbent was on exercising his powers vis-à-vis the Philippine legislature. Members to the elected legislature lobbied for immediate and complete independence from the United States. Several independence missions were sent to Washington, D.C. A civil service was formed and was gradually taken over by Filipinos, who had effectively gained control by 1918.
After the War in the Philippines the Commonwealth was restored and a one-year transitional period in preparation for independence began. Elections followed in April 1946 with Manuel Roxas winning as the first president of the independent Republic of the Philippines and Elpidio Quirino winning as vice-president. In spite of the years of Japanese occupation, the Philippines became independent exactly as scheduled a decade before, on July 4, 1946.
The Philippines failed to win international recognition of its independence, including the United States of America or Spain. The Spanish government later ceded the Philippine archipelago to the United States in the 1898 Treaty of Paris. The Philippines Revolutionary Government did not recognize the treaty and the two sides subsequently fought in what was known as the Philippine–American War.
In 1902, the United States Congress passed the Philippine Organic Act, which provided for the creation of the Philippine Assembly, with members to be elected by Filipino males. (Women did not have suffrage in the US or the Philippines.) This act was superseded by the 1916 Philippine Autonomy Act, which contained the first formal and official declaration of the United States government's commitment to eventually grant independence to the Philippines. The 1934 Philippine Independence Act created the Commonwealth of the Philippines the following year, a limited form of independence, and established a process ending in Philippine independence (originally scheduled for 1944, but interrupted and delayed by World War II). The United States granted independence in 1946, following World War II and the Japanese occupation of the Philippines, through the Treaty of Manila.
Ancient Malaysian and Indonesian cultures and civilizations in ancient Malaya, Sumatra and Java influenced the history, lifestyles, and culture of the Filipino peoples. The Malay language, along with Philippine languages belonging to the Malayo-Polynesian language family, has also had an immense influence on many languages spoken in the Philippines. This is because Old Malay used to be the lingua franca throughout the archipelago, a good example of this is Magellan's translator Enrique using Malay to converse with the native "Sugbuanon" (Cebuano) during this time period.
The Philippine Revolutionary Government did not recognize the treaty or American sovereignty, and subsequently fought and lost a conflict with the United States originally referred to by the Americans as the "Philippine Insurrection" but now generally and officially called the Philippine–American War, which ended when Emilio Aguinaldo was captured by U.S. forces, and issued a statement acknowledging and accepting the sovereignty of the United States over the Philippines. This was then followed on July 2, 1902, by U.S. Secretary of War Elihu Root telegraphing that the insurrection the United States had come to an end and that provincial civil governments had been established everywhere except those areas inhabited by Moro tribes. Pockets of resistance continued for several years.
On February 23, 1995, the Caraga region was created through the issue of Republic Act No. 7901 during the administration of President Fidel Ramos. The provinces of Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur and Surigao del Norte (of the former Northern Mindanao region) and Surigao del Sur (of the former Southern Mindanao region) were annexed as part of the newly-created region.
The history of the Philippines from 1521 to 1898, also known as the Spanish colonial period, was a period during which Spain controlled the Philippine islands as the Captaincy General of the Philippines, initially under New Spain until Mexican independence in 1821, which gave Madrid direct control over the area. It was also known as Spanish East Indies to the colonialists. It started with the arrival in 1521 of European explorer Ferdinand Magellan sailing for Spain, which heralded the period when the Philippines was a colony of the Spanish Empire, and ended with the outbreak of the Philippine Revolution in 1898, which marked the beginning of the American colonial era of Philippine history.
Owned and operated by the Porto Metro, the single-track funicular uses a central loop system that is long, allowing it to descend , with the upper situated within the passenger tunnel, with the markedly steep gradient in the section below the passing loop. Two vehicles run the course, with a capacity for 25 persons each, operating at a maximum speed of . Due to the difference in slope along the line, the cars have self-levelling platforms, allowing the car floor to maintain itself horizontal no matter the track incline. Although the journey is short (approximately 3 minutes) after emerging from the upper tunnel, passengers are able to view the landscape from the Dom Luís I Bridge, the river margins (including both quays along Ribeira and Cais de Gaia and the Port wine warehouses and traditional boats along the Douro River.
Caraga Region is located at northeastern part of Mindanao. It has five (5) provinces, namely: Dinagat Province, Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur, Agusan del Norte and Agusan del Sur. Caraga Region is now hosting several mining projects producing various mineral commodities particularly but not limited to gold, copper, chrome, nickel, iron and limestone for concrete cement production. This makes the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Mines and Geosciences Bureau, Regional Office No. 13 with Office located in Surigao City plays important role in the region's economy, job generation, social and environmental enhancement and protection and ensuring government shares through royalties and taxes.
The Atlantic shipping terminal was in Colon, Panama. The Pacific terminal was in Panama City. The 48-mile double track railway was the first transcontinental railway and an engineering marvel of the era. Until the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914, the Panama Railway Company carried the heaviest volume of freight per unit length of any railroad in the world. H. W. Corbett and others from Portland would then use it to get back and forth to the connecting ships to and from the East, rather than crossing on mule back. When the transcontinental Union Pacific Railroad to San Francisco was completed on May 10, 1869, this more direct route was then used for shipping and travel connecting to Portland by boat or stage coach.
Following the end of World War II, the United States granted independence to the Philippines on 4 July 1946 via the Treaty of Manila. July 4 was observed in the Philippines as "Independence Day" until August 4, 1964 when, upon the advice of historians and the urging of nationalists, President Diosdado Macapagal signed into law Republic Act No. 4166 designating June 12 as the country's "Independence Day". June 12 had previously been observed as "Flag Day" and many government buildings are urged to display the Philippine Flag in their offices.
On December 17, 2011, the government announced the completion of the new invitation for bids. The filing date of the new document was set for January 10, 2012, but again delayed in August 2013. There is still no date set for the new bidding session.The proposed bullet train project was presented to the city by Helio de Oliveira Santos (PDT), mayor of Campinas, in Brasília, to be built by the Japanese consortium within five years (ready for the World Cup in 2014). Campinas is ahead in the construction because it is the first city to pave the way for the train by completing its new Multimodal Passenger Terminal in June 2008. However, the tendering procedures would not begin until February 2009, when over 28 major world manufacturers participated in a contest for related projects. The Japanese consortium presented its proposal based on the Shinkansen, which carried 340 million passengers the previous year on 2100 km of track. It is made up of the Japanese companies Mitsui, Mitsubishi, Kawasaki and Toshiba. The consortium has already submitted a preliminary proposal in Brasília and São Paulo and Rio for interested entrepreneurs.
Rail transport in the Philippines is used mostly to transport passengers within Metro Manila and the nearby province of Laguna. Freight transport is nonexistent, although there are plans for a revival from Port Area, Manila to Laguna. Currently, the country has a railway footprint of only through LRT Line 1, LRT Line 2, MRT Line 3 and the Philippine National Railways (PNR) Metro Commuter Line. The government has plans to expand its current footprint to more than 320 kilometers by 2022.
The Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) is a public transport operator that is responsible for the construction, operation, maintenance and/or lease of Manila Light Rail Transit System in the Philippines. Founded by Philippine President Ferdinand E. Marcos on July 12, 1980. It is organized as a government-owned and controlled corporation under the Department of Transportation (DOTr) as an attached agency.
The Land Transportation Office ( or LTO) is an agency of the Philippine government under the Department of Transportation and is responsible for all land transportation in the Philippines. Functions of the Land Transportation Office include the inspection and registration of motor vehicles, issuance of license and permits, enforcement of land transportation rules and regulations, adjudication of traffic cases, and the collection of revenues for the government of the Philippines.
Land transportation in the Philippines is administered through various means such as trains, jeepneys, tricycles, taxis, buses, and many others. Various Philippine expressway network have been established throughout the country to hasten land transportation. Construction of more expressway networks and train railways are currently being made by the government, especially for Mindanao. Rail transport in the Philippines is mostly administered by the Philippine National Railways, while the Philippine expressway network and the Philippine highway network are mostly administered by the Department of Public Works and Highways.