EXPLAINER | Swerving paths to decongested roads

Road congestion has been a long-standing issue in the Philippines affecting everyday transportation resulting not just discomfort to commuters, but economic loss due to wasted time on the road. Metro Manila continues to suffer from severe traffic congestion, ranking first  among 387 metro areas who have the worst traffic congestion in 2023, mainly due to the heavy traffic flow of vehicles. In a 2022 UK study, the Philippines ranked 8th for the worst quality of roads. 

From the administration of Aquino up to the present, endless efforts have been exerted to address traffic woes in the Philippines. Under President Benigno Aquino III, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) launched projects under Aquino's Public-Private Partnership (PPP). Meanwhile, President Rodrigo Duterte further increased infrastructure through his “Build Build Build” (BBB) program and DPWH’s EDSA Decongestion Program. Currently, Marcos Jr. is continuing Duterte’s unfinished projects, with DPWH spearheading these efforts.

Manuel Bonoan, the current Secretary of the DPWH, is one of the operators of

President Ferdinand “BongBong” Marcos Jr.’s Build Better More (BBM) infrastructure program which aims to better the Philippine economy and fix up metro traffic with his projects that includes railways that are expected to decongest to ease up the traffic flow in Metro Manila. 

Out of 194 projects, the BBM program plans to construct 23 railway initiatives around 

the National Capital Region (NCR), one of which is the ongoing Metro Manila Subway that aims to prevent ₱2.5 billion in traffic losses. This will considerably improve the Philippine economy since we lose about ₱3.5 billion per day due to traffic alone.

Another ongoing project under BBM is the MRT-7 that is 71% completed. It is expected to be partially open to the public by the end of 2025. Once open, it will transport 850,000 commuters via trains per day, consequently reducing outdoor pollution on the roads and shortening travel time. For instance, as the commute time from San Jose del Monte, Bulacan to Quezon city takes at least 1 hour, it will lessen to just 35 minutes through MRT-7.

Numerous efforts were taken by previous administrations but with little success. 

Multiple projects were even delayed and cancelled under former President Rodrigo Duterte's Build Build Build (BBB) Infrastructure program like the Metro Manila Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) - Line 1. If done, it will ease travel across train systems and accommodate 291,500 passengers daily. However, this transport system that was worth ₱5.5 billion was cancelled, and the loan lent by the World Bank expired before it was used. The Department of Transportation (DOTr), while responsible for this BRT, did not allocate funds for these projects in the 2022 national budget, further delaying its progress.

Aside from the BRT, the EDSA Greenways was also planned by DOTr under BBB in 2022.

Its goal is to make the cities more walkable by installing pedestrian walkways for commuters. However, in 2022, it was pushed back instead to 2024 because the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) only allowed relocation works at night when EDSA Greenways requires a 24/7 work schedule. Currently in 2024, it has been pushed back again to 2027 because DOTr will wait for the Common Station, a metro rail connecting four rail lines and public roads, to be completed before proceeding. However, even the Common Station has been delayed for about 8 years and was only continued in 2022. 

Similarly, Mark Villar, the former Secretary of DPWH from 2016 to 2021, also promised that by 2022, the commute time in Metro Manila would be 20-30 minutes with the EDSA Decongestion Program. As of 2024, this has not been realized with how an average driver spends 240 hours in Metro Manila due to traffic.

Through Villar's program, 25 road projects were planned. Some of the completed major roads were the Metro Manila Skyway Stage 3 — which connects Makati to Quezon city — NLEX Harbor Link C3-R10, connecting Quezon City and Manila, and NLEX-SLEX Connector Road which connects NLEX and SLEX. These projects reduced traffic by decongesting at least 55,000 vehicles daily and shortening travel time of at least 2 hours down to 15-20 minutes. 

While some of the expressways under Villar are beneficial, some projects like the North & South Harbor Bridge in Manila caused negative implications. This bridge is expected to accommodate about 5,800 vehicles daily once completed and connect barangays 20 and 649, making travel a little easier between the two. However, while it is convenient, it will displace 1,292 families, or force them out of their home, and demolish a school that is essential for students living near the barangays.

According to Ira Cruz, the Director of the transport advocacy group AltMobility PH, the 

Philippines has been experiencing a mobility crisis since 2019. This crisis was caused by the government's failure to implement effective and sustainable transportation initiatives, leaving commuters with no choice but to endure daily issues of commuting. Cruz mentioned that some commuters climb bus windows to get a seat, completely disregarding their safety just to get home.

Cruz also stated that the pandemic, which significantly reduced traffic and vehicles on the road, was a golden opportunity for much-needed reforms in transportation. With fewer vehicles on the road, the government could have expanded transportation systems, fixed crooked roads, and provided alternative modes of transportation. However, Cruz claims that the government failed to see this opportunity, worsening the transportation system and allowing issues to persist to this day. 

Nanoy Rafael, Convenor of the Commuter-centred group PARA - Advocates for 

Inclusive Transportation, further commented on the government's plan of action for transportation. He argued that initiatives such as the mandatory modernization of jeepneys, ban on light vehicles, and closure of the Philippine National Railway (PNR) were not solutions for the real needs of commuters but instead are results of neglect, reflecting the government's failure to treat public transport as a service as it pushed for such programs that burden drivers and commuters. 

Rafael also emphasized the long-term consequences of the government's initiatives. As road projects are funded through loans by financial institutions, such as the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the government must recover the costs. As such, these loans will prompt fares to be more expensive, making Filipinos bear the brunt of financial burden. 

Traffic congestion in Metro Manila is a rooted problem for various infrastructure

projects such as Duterte’s BBB Infrastructure program. This prompted Villar to present the EDSA Decongestion Program in 2018. The EDSA decongestion program consists of 25 road projects, aiming to provide alternative routes to 200,000 vehicles and shortening the average commute time of 15 minutes to 1 hour down to just 20-30 minutes by 2022. However, commuters in Metro Manila lost about 8 hours during traffic and commuted for at least an hour per day in 2023.

On the other hand, Duterte aimed to make his term the Golden Era of Infrastructure through BBB. However, Miguel Chanco, the Pantheon Macroeconomics Chief emerging Asia economist, says that “The campaign [BBB] succeeded in ramping up much-needed investment, but clearly failed to meet its lofty goals.”

In 2022, only 14 out of 119 Infrastructure projects under BBB were completed. This 

includes the Light Rail Transit (LRT) 2 East Extension in 2021 that raised its daily capacity of 240,000 up to another 80,000, lessening commuters travelling via roads. In 2024, at least 11 road projects from BBB have been completed, 6 of which are focused on EDSA and Metro Manila, helping to bypass and lessen traffic in said areas as well.

In Aquino's PPP, only 5 out of 49 projects were completed during his 6 years as

 the president, and 2 were road projects, namely the Daang Hari-SLEX Link Road and NAIA Expressway which shortened the travel time for vehicles from 1 hour to 20-45 minutes. 

Additionally, the Laoag City Bypass Road is another project under PPP that aims to 

improve the mobility of services and vehicles throughout Ilocos Norte with its two-lane road, shortening the travel time from Laoag to Ilocos Norte from 45 minutes to 10 minutes. However, while it was planned in 2011, it was not built during Aquino’s term but was integrated in Duterte’s BBB in 2017, and built in 2022. Prior to its completion, it already had the National Economic and Development Authority’s (NEDA) approval and funding. Still, it was delayed and took 11 years to construct.