NOVEL NEXT Chapter 177: New Venture
Sentinel BioTech HQ, Manila — December 6, 2023 | 8:00 AM
The first gusts of December wind swept through the city, cool and crisp, a welcome contrast to the heat that often lingered even through the holidays. Inside Sentinel BioTech's executive wing, the morning sun cast golden stripes across the floor-to-ceiling windows of Matthew Borja's office.
He stood by the glass, arms crossed, eyes fixed on the skyline.
From here, he could see the city's arteries—roads, highways, intersections—choked with vehicles. Despite the success of the MRT-7 and the accelerating construction of the Aurora Line, road congestion remained a glaring, painful truth.
Behind him, Angel entered with two cups of coffee and a folder tucked under her arm. She placed one cup beside Matthew without a word and then joined him by the window.
"Traffic's worse than usual," she commented, nodding toward the bottleneck along EDSA.
"I've been watching it for the past twenty minutes," Matthew replied. "It hasn't moved."
She handed him the folder. "That's what I figured. So, I pulled up the latest data from MMDA. Travel time from Monumento to Makati is now averaging an hour and forty-five minutes during rush hour. That's with all the alternate routes open."
Matthew flipped open the folder, scanning the charts. "This is the next battlefield, Angel. Roads. Expressways."
Angel blinked. "You're serious?"
He nodded. "MRT-7 is on track. Aurora Line's construction is ahead of schedule. But trains alone won't solve this. We need faster, more efficient roads to link provinces—expressways that aren't stalled for decades by graft, toll delays, and broken PPP models."
He walked back to his desk and pulled out a blueprint sketch that had been tucked beneath a stack of project reports. "I had this drawn up a few months ago. A direct expressway connecting Bulacan to Batangas—bypassing Metro Manila entirely."
Angel stared at the hand-drawn map, her eyes tracing the bold red lines.
"That cuts through Cavite, Laguna, parts of Quezon," she said, reading the annotations. "You're thinking of replicating what SMC did with TPLEX and Skyway?"
Matthew nodded. "But with full private control. No government delays. No waiting for multi-year bidding processes. We buy land, pay people fairly, and build it from the ground up."
Angel folded her arms. "It'll be massive. The Aurora Line was already a monster of a project. This… this is national-scale."
Matthew didn't flinch. "Exactly. We need to build the veins that move this country. The more roads we build, the more access people have to opportunity—education, trade, industry."
She raised an eyebrow. "And I assume you're not going to partner with the government on this either."
"I learned my lesson with MRT-7. If we want this done right, we do it ourselves."
Angel walked back to the desk and opened her tablet. "Okay then. Let's start mapping this out. We'll need logistics, land acquisition teams, environmental permits, provincial outreach…"
Matthew smiled. "Already thinking like a transportation czar."
She smirked. "I've been doing this long enough to know what you're planning before you say it."
Batangas Provincial Hall — December 8, 2023 | 10:00 AM
Two days later, Matthew and Angel sat in a formal meeting with Batangas Governor Melissa Ramos, who had welcomed them into the newly renovated provincial capitol. On the table before them was a preliminary proposal—an expressway that would cut travel time between San Jose del Monte and Batangas Port from over four hours to less than two.
"This," the governor said, tapping the proposal, "is ambitious. But I'll admit, if anyone can pull it off, it's you."
Matthew leaned forward. "Governor, this isn't about ambition. It's about necessity. We're bleeding hours on the road. Farmers can't move goods in time. Fisherfolk from Batangas are losing market prices because they can't reach the NCR efficiently."
Governor Ramos nodded. "I'm with you. But you know what will happen—Congress will call this a private monopoly. The toll rates will be criticized. There'll be noise."
Angel chimed in. "Then let's make the entire toll structure public. Published. Transparent. With subsidies for low-income users. We'll even offer free cargo transport slots for registered agri-cooperatives."
That caught the governor's attention.
"You'd do that?" she asked.
"We've already done it with Aurora Line vendor stations," Angel replied.
Governor Ramos smiled. "You're really trying to flip the whole system on its head."
"No," Matthew said. "We're trying to build a new one beside it."
Sentinel BioTech HQ, Manila — December 10, 2023 | 3:00 PM
Back in Manila, the boardroom was lit up with digital maps and feasibility reports. The proposal now had a working name: Astra Expressway Initiative—a tribute to the Latin word for "stars."
"It symbolizes direction," Matthew had said. "A road to the stars, and to the future."
Executives from engineering firms, logistics providers, and private banks filled the room, listening intently as Matthew laid out the vision.
"We start with Phase One: North Luzon to Cavite. Six toll exits. 142 kilometers. Phase Two brings us to Batangas Port. Target completion: four years. Full buyout of land parcels, no leasing. Full digital tolling. Local hiring priority."
One logistics executive asked, "Are you sure the government won't intervene?"
Angel replied, "We're not asking for money. We're asking for room. And if they block us, they'll be blocking 50,000 potential new jobs and three hundred kilometers of economic acceleration."
By the end of the session, over 85% of stakeholders signed letters of intent.
December 12, 2023 — National News Coverage
The next day, newspapers and news anchors were flooded with the same phrase: "Borja's doing it again."
Karen De La Cruz featured the announcement on her nightly program.
"This evening, we bring you breaking news on what could become the Philippines' most ambitious private infrastructure project yet. Sentinel BioTech has unveiled the Astra Expressway Initiative—an entirely privately funded expressway to rival existing government road networks. As with MRT-7 and the Aurora Line, CEO Matthew Borja promises full transparency, faster build times, and social equity for impacted communities."
Public opinion, though mixed, skewed curious and supportive.
On social media:
@TitoMar2023: "Kung si Borja na lang gumawa ng lahat ng daan sa Pilipinas, baka di na kami ma-late."
@FutureEngineerPH: "This expressway will cut travel to Batangas by half. If he pulls this off again, that's legacy-level work."
December 15, 2023 — Sentinel BioTech Rooftop | 8:00 PM
As twilight settled over the city once more, Matthew stood by the rooftop railing, the cold December breeze brushing past him. Angel joined him with two cups of coffee, a familiar comfort after another long day of strategy meetings and landowner negotiations.
"You do realize," she said, "you're basically building the country's spine."
He gave a faint chuckle. "Or at least trying to."
She looked at him, serious now. "You know they'll come after you harder than ever for this."
"I'm counting on it," he replied. "Because the louder they get, the more people will realize just how badly we've needed to do this."
Angel took a sip, her gaze turning to the horizon. "Expressways, railways, ports… you're not just fixing the system, Matthew. You're replacing it."
He nodded, his eyes narrowing in focus. "And we're not stopping here."
The city below shimmered like a constellation—every light a reminder of what they were building toward.
One expressway at a time.
One promise fulfilled.
And a nation finally, undeniably, moving forward.