Reviving the MMDA Worker’s Inn

One solution that comes to mind is to provide low-cost transient board and lodging to workers and laborers that the government can initially operate at subsidized costs. This is not a new concept. In fact, the MMDA used to operate the MMDA Worker’s Inn and had this up and running since more than a decade ago.

Metro Manila is home to close to 15 million residents, which balloons to close to 20 million during the day with the influx of transient workers, students and employees from nearby communities of Bulacan, rizal, cavite and laguna. this adds unnecessary stress to what is already one of the most densely populated urban areas in the world, increasing traffic congestion beyond its present road capacity. Meanwhile, our transient brothers and sisters see their quality of life suffer as they shuttle back and forth, spending an average of three to four hours on the road. those who can afford would rather buy or rent an apartment or condo; precisely why rental or purchase costs of condos and apartments have remained to be exceptionally high despite the pandemic. But for the working class, which comprise a greater majority of our population, they practically have no choice but to toil the beaten commuting path daily.

True, government programs such as the “Balik Probinsya” or the general push for more economic hubs in nearby Pampanga, Cavite and Batangas provinces will help decongest Metro Manila and bring employment opportunities to the countryside, but this will take a while. We need a short term, easily implementable solution that can help alleviate the plight of our everyman working in Metro Manila.

One solution that comes to mind is to provide low-cost transient board and lodging to workers and laborers that the government can initially operate at subsidized costs. This is not a new concept. In fact, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority used to operate the MMDA Worker’s Inn and had this up and running since more than a decade ago. For a cost of just P50 per night, a worker or a laborer can have a decent place to sleep for the night, complete with separate lodging, bathing and toilet facilities for both sexes. Unfortunately, this was discontinued some years ago as the building being used was just being rented by the MMDA and was already being recalled by the government agency that owned it. But it did work. The occupancy rate of the facility, when I was head of that agency, hovered around 98 to 100 percent at any given time, with a lot lined up in the waiting list. It was a no-frills affair but it was embraced by its targeted sector. To help augment the subsidized costs, a fast food area was put up on the ground floor. And for all the time it existed, the venture was never in the red with repairs and maintenance cost being covered by its own revenues.

Imagine if this is pushed anew and re-implemented now. Of course, the needed health protocols must still be in place. I will guess that it will be a big hit again just like before. And all the lessons learned from the past undertaking can be reviewed and included. For one, there were parked cars, apparently not owned by the transients, in the premises with an enterprising employee making revenues that should have gone to the government. Another one I remember was putting a limit on the number of days allocated to an occupant. There were cases then of occupants who would book for a year, thereby denying others who would have wanted to stay there as well.

But in general, the program worked and can be utilized further. Imagine if the government will operate 100 such facilities immediately. If one building can host at least a thousand transients daily, then that equates to around 100,000 commuters that will be off the roads for the day. And where can we find such buildings? Just take a look around and you will see a lot of unused public buildings—the former PCSO headquarters in Quezon City, or that old GSIS building near Manila City Hall, among others. Yes, the government will spend for refurbishing, but it will be self-reliant in the long run. Not only that, a good portion of our commuting public will be benefitted, traffic congestion will be lessened as well, and we will have a cleaner air in the metropolis.

I hope that the government will consider this and make it happen the soonest. It worked before, and I don’t see any reason why it won’t work again this time.