MAP seeks nat’l budget to complete Edsa busway
The Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) has urged Congress to reallocate funds for the completion of the long-delayed Edsa busway system in the 2026 national budget.
“The government’s commitment to ease the plight of bus commuters must be met,” MAP president Alfredo Panlilio and MAP Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Eduardo Yap said in a letter dated Sept. 24.
In their letter addressed to acting Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez, Senate Committee on Public Affairs chair Raffy Tulfo and House committee on transportation Chair Franz Pumaren, MAP said Congress now had the opportunity to reallocate funds to complete this project within a year.
“Since the government is not inclined to appropriate funds for flood control projects, funds there can be more ideally reallocated to the Busway System,” Panlilio said.
Panlilio said “no meaningful budget allocation” had been provided for this project, except for a few hundred million pesos.
Almost 100,000 bus commuters depend on the busway for their daily commute, causing severe congestion in Manila Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT 3) used as makeshift points for five years now, the group said.
“While this interim arrangement has been acceptable during the initial test period, severe congestion has been a daily grind for both MRT-3 and Busway commuters in the already over-crowded MRT-3 stations,” the letter added.
Slow progress
MAP said only four out of more than 20 busway-dedicated stations have been completed: Guadalupe, Buendia, Taft Avenue and Roxas Boulevard stations. Two others, North Edsa and Ortigas stations, are being built through private sector donations.
It said the busway stations could be “easily completed” next year if the projects would be auctioned off in batches to large and reputable contractors.
These are Kamuning, Cubao/Araneta, Santolan, Camp Aguinaldo, Corinthian Gardens, Highway Hills, Estrella St. (Rockwell), Ayala/Edsa, Magallanes, Malibay, F.B. Harrison, MOA/J. Diokno, Aseana/Macapagal and Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange.
“In addition to other ancillary facilities, this system must be equipped with overhead bridgeway to the station platforms along the road median beside the MRT3 trackway, and provided with convenient access for the physically-challenged commuters,” the letter read.
The group proposed finalizing a schematic busway system plan to connect, at least, Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City and other major routes.
It also recommended developing a comprehensive Metro Manila Busway System to complement rail systems that are existing or under construction.
