Planned Pasig River expressway may just make traffic, pollution worse — groups

MANILA, Philippines — Transport, environmental and heritage institutions said the proposed Pasig River Expressway (PAREX) project of conglomerate San Miguel Corp. will not only make congestion in Metro Manila worse but will also pose threats to health and the environment because of increased pollution.

SMC presented its plans to build a P95-billion thoroughfare that will connect the eastern and western portions of Metro Manila through a 19-kilometer elevated expressway over the Pasig River during an online public consultation on July 14.

The planned expressway will have six lanes and will be divided into three segments.

PAREX is seen by its proponent as a solution to solve traffic and clean up the heavily-polluted Pasig River that cuts across the capital region.

But transport advocacy group Move As One Coalition stressed PAREX will only worsen traffic due to induced demand, or the increase in people using that road because it is there. Eventually, they said, the volume of traffic will be too much for the new expressway, leading to congestion.

"If you have an expressway that is primarily for the use of private motor vehicles, we are in effect encouraging the use of private motor vehicles within a dense urban area like Metro Manila," Robert Siy Jr., coalition convenor, said.

"Investment in an expressway like this, which is for the main use of private motor vehicles, delivers the message to everyone that you need to have a private motor vehicle in order to move around our city efficiently," he added.

Engineer Egay Doña, representative of the SMC, said that induced demand is possible but stressed the project is better than doing nothing. 

"If we don't do anything, we will still be challenged by bumper to bumper traffic along EDSA... Actually this project is supposed to alleviate that traffic but I do understand the concern," he said.

"In fact, this is the phenomenon we have observed: if you build a good road, if you build a facility, it entices generation of more traffic but if we don't do anything, the same traffic will be plying the congested roads."

Environmental concerns

In a statement released in April, Move As One Coalition said PAREX will increase greenhouse gas emissions in the Philippines. It is feared to impede the country’s effort to meet its commitment to slash these emissions by 75% by 2030.

In a separate statement released in June, they said the elevated expressway could make the lives of "millions who have a constitutional right to a balanced and healthful ecology" worse.

The coalition also said the proposed expressway will make the rehabilitation of the 27-kilometer Pasig River impossible. They said the river "can be revived and transformed into a green public space where people can enjoy the best views, stroll, cycle, and have fun."

The construction of elevated expressway is also seen to destroy the sightlines of heritage structures along the historic Pasig River.

"It’s not actually a solution but a problem that will not solve the intended traffic concerns, that will not solve air pollution, that will not solve the health of our riverine ecosystem that could be cleaned up even without the expressway," policy researcher Ken Abante said.

Health impacts

Organizations also pointed out the expressway will worsen air pollution in Metro Manila, increasing people’s vulnerability to air pollution-related deaths.

“We must anticipate the pollution, the emissions of all these slow-moving vehicles,” Siy said.

Architect and environmental planner Leandro Poco called for an assessment of the project's impacts on human health.

“Health impacts I think are primary not just to the users but to the people on ground level who are the most affected by pollution and by the prospect of this expressway cutting through their neighborhoods,” he said.

No detailed design yet

Doña said the SMC has yet to develop the project’s detailed engineering design.

“Once approved, we can start with the rigors of doing the detailed engineering design. We will finish that in one year. While we’re working on the detailed engineering design, we’ll start the construction of the longer segment. In the end, we hope to complete all the segments at the end of the fourth year,” he said in a mix of English and Filipino.

The public scoping held last week was part of the requirements for the project’s environmental permit, which will be issued by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

SMC is expected to conduct a baseline study after the technical scoping. Then a review and a public hearing will be conducted. A final review will be conducted before the department decides if it will grant or reject the conglomerate’s application for Environmental Compliance Certificate.