"The National Capital Region is no longer a sustainable choice for residence and employment."
"The National Capital Region is no longer a sustainable choice for residence and employment."
Traffic congestion in Metro Manila has been a grueling topic to discuss, much more to experience. For years now, legislators, both at the House and Senate, have been conducting hearings left and right on the proposed solutions to this worsening traffic. However, despite countless discussions, these talks lead us nowhere nearer our destination.
While I acknowledge that the new roads, bridges, expressways, and railways being constructed shall decongest major roads and highways, the construction entails closure of portions of roads. These worsen traffic. There are proposals to prohibit private vehicles along EDSA at certain times and assign specific lanes to public utility vehicles. Traffic enforcement agencies have tried various schemes. However, these ideas are only band-aid solutions and, as commuters agree, have minimal impact, if any, on improving the traffic situation.
To my mind, what needs to be decongested is not EDSA, but the entire metro. Efforts to decongest our roads will be all for naught if Metro Manila or the National Capital Region remains overcrowded and overpopulated. And our numbers are still growing. The Philippine Statistics Authority projected Metro Manila population to reach 13.04 million by 2018. If this projection is correct, over 13.04 million are crammed in Metro Manila’s 61,960-hectare land area.
People from the provinces make a mass exodus to the Metro, with the hopes of finding gainful employment. I strongly urge our government agencies and officials to utilize the potential of the countryside. At the risk of being repetitive, I put forward my proposal of transferring the center of governance and establishing new centers of trade and commerce in the Pacific side, particularly in Quezon Province. In the previous Congress, I filed House Resolution No. 1120 which sought for the consideration of the possible relocation of the national government centers to General Nakar, Quezon, and the consequent construction of the national circumferential road to provide access to the new government hub.
In all my years in public service, “countryside development” was a goal of every administration. Developing the countryside, decongesting the Metro and relocating centers of government to just one area outside of the Metro is a win-win situation. This will give Metro Manila some breathing room and a chance to be rehabilitated. The countryside will be developed into new cities that will be sustainable and livable. Economic opportunities will be spread out and be available across the board. Cost of land is cheaper in the provinces, like in General Nakar, and affordable settlements may be established. More people will then be able to have decent housing.
Instead of debating over the traffic situation, we should get to the root of the problem. Metro Manila is no longer a sustainable choice for residence and employment. We should follow the example of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Australia. The successful transfer of their centers of government made their respective administration more effective and responsive to the needs of the people. To me, developing the countryside in this way displays the kind of forward thinking that we need for a growing economy.