Senator Joel Villanueva seeks a legislative inquiry into government plans and programs to address the “worsening” traffic congestion in Metro Manila and other highly urbanized metropolis in the country.
Villanueva filed Senate Resolution 859 citing the “significant personal, social, environmental, and economic impacts” of the perennial traffic mess.
“There is a need to review the policies and revisit the programs and plans of the Department of Transportation, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) , the Department of the Interior and Local Government, and other relevant agencies on ameliorating heavy traffic conditions in the Philippines,” Villanueva said in his resolution.
In 2022, an independent traffic study showed that Manila ranked ninth out of 390 cities and first in Southeast Asian cities when in terms of traffic congestion.
The study indicated that it took an average of 27 minutes to travel 10 kilometers in 2022 with commuters spending 100 hours in traffic out of 241 driving hours yearly.
Villanueva, citing data from Japan International Cooperation Agency, said the Philippines is losing billions of pesos daily due to traffic jams in Metro Manila, P2.4 billion in 2014, P3.5 billion in 2018, and P4.9 billion in 2023.
The JICA research projected that the economic costs will increase to P6 billion a day by 2030.
“A good transport structure is a fundamental component of the tourism industry. Tourism heavily relies on transportation to bring tourists from one destination to another…With comfort on their minds and limited time on their hands, tourists would drop itineraries should there be traffic congestion on the way to their destinations. It is more likely that tourists would choose cities with efficient transport systems,” Villanueva stressed.
The Senate majority leader also highlighted in his resolution statements by the MMDA on traffic congestion during the holiday season despite several national and local government programs aimed to minimize traffic jams.
He noted that the MMDA warned last year of a 10 percent to 20 percent increase in traffic volume, or about 417,000 to 430,000 vehicles passing through Epifanio delos Santos Avenue (EDSA), a major thoroughfare in Metro Manila, daily during the holiday season.
Apart from this, the lawmaker mentioned a Department of Tourism report last year indicating international arrivals peaked in December as more tourists and Filipinos opted to spend their holiday vacation in the Philippines.
“Now, therefore, be it resolved by the Senate of the Philippines, that the appropriate Committee/s of the Senate conduct an inquiry, in aid of legislation, on the plans and programs of the government to solve the worsening traffic congestion in Metro Manila and in other highly urbanized cities of the country,” Villanueva wrote.
The resolution was referred to the Senate committee on public services chaired by Senator Grace Poe.