Developing the fringes of Metro Manila
tHe heavy traffic in Metro Manila again caught the eye of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. last week. this time around, President Marcos offered long-term solutions that could ease the traffic jams and lead to a broader and more inclusive economic development of the nation.
I am referring to the policy statement of the chief executive to pursue the development of nearby provinces and cities as a timely solution to Metro Manila’s worsening traffic woes.
“Traffic is one of our biggest problems in this country. Sadly, it’s been a part of every Filipino’s life, and the traffic in the Philippines is notorious all over the world,” Mr. Marcos said in his recent vlog. “Metro Manila is congested. So part of the plan is to develop the neighboring provinces and cities.”
I consider this a Solomonic decision on the part of President Marcos. Mega infrastructure projects are coming on stream—maybe in four to six years—to alleviate traffic in the urban capital region. But the respective capacities of the 147-kilometer North–south Commuter Railway (NSCR), or the Clark–calamba Railway, the 36-kilometer Metro Manila Subway, new roads and bridges will reach their limit over time with the growing Philippine population and the increasing transport demand in the capital region.
Decongesting Metro Manila and developing nearby provinces such as Bulacan, Pampanga, Laguna, and Cavite are more plausible and part of the long-term options.
What President Marcos wants is a comprehensive and holistic approach to solving the traffic problem—not the piecemeal approach adopted in the past.
The Presidential directive drew an immediate response from our chief economic manager. The National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) also last week called on businesses to invest in the provinces to help alleviate traffic congestion in Metro Manila.
“We support the development of neighboring provinces like Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Batangas, as well as regional centers such as Clark and Pampanga, Laoag, Metro Cebu, Metro Davao, Cagayan de Oro, Iloilo, Bacolod, General Santos City, and others,” said Neda Secretary Arsenio Balisacan.
Proper urban planning, he says, is crucial to resolving Metro Manila’s traffic problems.
“The rapid growth of our economy has led to a significant increase in the number of people traveling for work, running businesses, and even for leisure and tourism. This has caused traffic congestion,” Balisacan said. “We need to consider our entire transportation system and infrastructure, along with the development of our industries, commercial centers, and even residential areas.”
I can only agree with our chief economic planner. Establishing new economic hubs just outside of Metro Manila will hopefully put a stop to the continuous migration of
workers as well as students to the metropolis, and freeze the demand for transportation and other infrastructure services.
These new economic centers will result in the parity development of emerging towns and cities in nearby provinces and reduce the over-concentration of the populations and workers in the congested mega metropolis. In turn, the demand for housing and other social services will ease the pressure on the resources of local governments in Metro Manila.
The government should also pursue the decentralization of public services. As our chief economic planner correctly noted, residents in the provinces should have access to quality services near their homes to avoid traveling to Manila. Medical treatments and access to education, for instance, should be made available to residents outside of Metro Manila to decongest the capital region.
The urban decongestion may also take the form of satellite cities to stop workers’ migration and rectify the past mistakes of city planning.
Satellite cities are designed to generate new jobs and they can reverse the migration of workers to Metro Manila. By decongesting Metro Manila, its mayors and local leaders can plan and respond better to the demand for infrastructure and social services of a rising population.
Such cities align with United Nations’ perspective of a sustainable and well-planned city. The adverse effects of poorly planned urbanization, according to the UN, can be seen in some of the huge slums, tangled traffic, greenhouse gas emissions and sprawling suburbs all over the world.
President Marcos’ directive to develop cities and towns outside of Metro Manila, thus, will lead us to the creation of modern metropolises—devoid of traffic congestion and capable of sustaining a decent life.