With an estimated P3.5-billion daily economic losses incurred from traffic, the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) through its Transportation and Infrastructure Committee said Metro Manila should be placed under a “state of calamity.”
Committee chair Eduardo Yap gave this assessment during a recent House committee hearing on Metro Manila Development. He said the magnitude of the economic damage due to traffic exceeds the threshold for declaring a state of calamity, which typically stands at P1 billion.
Yap also recommended that President Marcos may exercise his emergency powers to implement relief measures to address the ongoing crisis.
Manila Rep. Rolando Valeriano presided over the March 20 hearing, which discussed the Holistic Plan of MAP to alleviate the perennial traffic issue. Under this proposal, a traffic czar would be tasked to spearhead a comprehensive program aimed at decongesting Metro Manila.
The program comprises short, medium, and long-term measures to provide immediate relief for motorists and ensure long-term sustainability through infrastructural improvements, particularly in mass public transportation.
Included in the proposal is the adoption of private Electric Vehicles (EVs) to reduce air pollution. Yap, however, noted that the EDSA Busway must be used exclusively by public buses because allowing private vehicles, including EVs, on it would hinder its efficiency as a public conveyance facility.
Instead, Yap suggested incentivizing private EVs by exempting them from road congestion charges once a travel-demand management system is established on congested private car lanes, such as EDSA.
“The ideal time to institute this travel-demand-regulating measure is when the Busway and the MRT3 have been privatized and upgraded to global standards of efficiency,” the MAP said in its statement on March 21.
“Such a situation will present an attractive mobility option, other than private vehicles, that will encourage motorists to shift to mass transit and spare motorists from incurring road congestion user charge while helping to decongest traffic,” it added.
MAP advocated for the establishment of an EDSA Busway in 2015. The Department of Transportation (DOTr) implemented it in June 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic when movements were restricted.
MAP is closely monitoring this program to ensure compliance with international standards. Yap underscored the importance of a comprehensive approach to effectively tackle Metro Manila’s longstanding traffic congestion problem, which continues to worsen every year.
