The Archipelago Corridor

Astra HQ, Subic — January 12, 2024 | 7:30 AM

The conference room lights buzzed to life as Matthew entered with a mug of black coffee in one hand and a stack of annotated blueprints in the other. The entire east wall had been converted into a live projection display, showing a digital map of the Philippines—Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao—stitched together with planned and proposed expressway segments.

Angel was already there, standing beside a JR East delegation and a team of structural consultants flown in from Cebu. A fresh printout labeled "PHASE TWO – INTER-ISLAND CORRIDOR INITIATIVE" sat on the table between them.