Government doing its best to address traffic mess – Palace

MANILA, Philippines - Amid concerns Metro Manila may become uninhabitable due to the worsening traffic mess, Malacañang gave assurance yesterday that the government is doing its best to address the situation.

Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. cited the government’s Mega Manila Dream Plan or Roadmap for Transport Infrastructure Development for Metro Manila and its surrounding areas, including Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon and Central Luzon.

Coloma said the administration is committed and determined to solve the traffic congestion in Metro Manila and is ready with short- and long-term measures. 

He said the Mega Manila Dream Plan was drafted by the Japan International Cooperation Agency and approved by the National Economic and Development Authority Board in June 2014 based on the future needs of those residing in Metro Manila and nearby areas. 

The traffic roadmap hopes to solve traffic congestion, prevent households from living in hazardous conditions, remove barriers for seamless mobility, eliminate the excessive cost burden for low-income groups and prevent air pollution. 

John Forbes, senior advisor of the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, stressed the need to immediately improve roads and infrastructure, saying Metro Manila is at risk of becoming “uninhabitable” within four years as annual new car units increase to 500,000 by 2020. 

“While roads are being improved throughout the country, the National Capital Region urgently needs more limited access roads, especially skyways, and rail,” Forbes said.

Aside from access roads, Forbes said the new airport terminal in Clark, Pampanga should be built in the next two years with a non-stop fast train connector similar to Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong and Tokyo to ease traffic congestion. 

Traffic aides 

Meanwhile, the city government of Parañaque will hire 100 additional traffic aides amid the expected traffic jams with the construction of the Circumferential Road 5 or Link Expressway project next month.

Mayor Edwin Olivarez also directed the city traffic management office to implement the opening of a “friendship route” in private subdivisions to ease the traffic jams along the city’s major roads.

Olivarez said the pilot friendship route in Doña Soledad subdivision in Barangay Don Bosco would be opened this month.

He said city government officials are still holding dialogues with homeowners at BF Homes, which sprawls across not only a sizable portion of Parañaque, but also the cities of Las Piñas and Muntinlupa, for the opening of a  friendship route. Some of the homeowners oppose the opening of the subdivision to non-residents.

The BF international gate on Southville and the other on Concha Cruz Avenue leading to Toyota Alabang in Las Piñas have been placed under the city government’s “friendship road” programs.

Groundbreaking for the C-5 Link Expressway in Taguig City until Moonwalk and Merville Villages in Sucat, Parañaque is planned this month, while the construction is expected to begin next month. – With Perseus Echeminada, Paolo Romero