Lawmaker seeks compromise on EDSA bus ban

MANILA, Philippines — Deputy speaker and Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte is proposing a compromise on the plan of the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) to ban provincial buses from traversing EDSA and to remove bus terminals along the busy highway.

Another deputy speaker, Dan Fernandez of Sta. Rosa City in Laguna, supported the plan, saying it is one of the solutions to ease EDSA traffic.

“There have been numerous studies before, let’s not go into more studies. Let’s just implement the solutions,” he said.

Sta. Rosa is where the government would build a hub for buses coming from the south and for vehicles that would transport passengers to the city.

Villafuerte urged the MMDA to consider allowing provincial buses on EDSA “during non-peak hours like after midnight till before dawn, like from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m.”

For example, he said buses leaving Naga City at 8 p.m. arrive in Metro Manila the following early morning between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. 

“The compromise would allow provincial buses to come in during off-peak hours, hence partially solving the traffic congestion problem buffeting EDSA,” he said.

He added that the planned bus is “anti-poor, as it is bad for ordinary commuters, especially those from the provinces.”

Villafuerte called on the MMDA and the Department of Transportation to come up with a comprehensive program to decongest traffic not only on EDSA but on major roads in Metro Manila as well.