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.
"We've been studying terrain profiles for the Leyte to Cebu bridge section," Angel began as Matthew set down his coffee. "It's not going to be easy. The channel is deep, and seismic activity in the area is historically volatile. But JR East believes they can bring in their floating support column system. It's untested here but worked well in parts of northern Japan."
