The Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) has urged the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to allocate funds in its 2026 budget to complete the essential infrastructure component of the long-delayed EDSA Busway project.
MAP said in a letter to acting DOTr Secretary Giovanni Lopez that the busway system, a lifeline for nearly 100,000 daily commuters, is hampered by a severe lack of proper facilities.
“The EDSA Busway requires its own dedicated stations with overhead bridgeways, median platforms, and convenient access for the physically challenged,” MAP said. It noted there had been no “meaningful budget allocation” for the system beyond a few hundred million pesos.
The group said Congress now has an opportunity to provide funding for the “long-overdue, dedicated busway stations,” which could be completed in 2026 if the projects are bidded out in batches to large, reputable contractors.
MAP listed 14 priority stations that should be built to ease chronic congestion at existing access points. These include Kamuning, Cubao/Araneta, Santolan, Camp Aguinaldo, Corinthian Gardens, Highway Hills, Estrella (Rockwell), Ayala/EDSA, Magallanes, Malibay, F.B. Harrison, MOA/J. Diokno, Aseana/Macapagal and PITX.
MAP said that only four government-built stations—Guadalupe, Buendia, Taft Avenue, and Roxas Boulevard—have been completed.
Two additional stations at North EDSA and Ortigas are under construction through private sector donations. For five years, commuters have relied on MRT-3 stations as makeshift access points, which has led to severe overcrowding.
Citing President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s statement that “car-centric transport policies are outdated,” MAP said “mass commuter transport is the answer to mobility.” Othel V. Campos
It recommended reallocating funds from flood control projects to accelerate the busway’s completion. The association also called for a comprehensive schematic plan to extend the system beyond EDSA to key corridors such as Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon Avenue, C5, Sucat, and Alabang-Zapote Road to complement ongoing rail developments.
“The EDSA Busway System is the only mass transport system that can be completed within one year, and it should be done as soon as possible,” MAP said.
