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Duterte’s first SONA, one year later: NCR flooding and traffic


Every State of the Nation Address is both a look back and a look ahead—to the President's accomplishments the previous year, and to what he or she plans to do next.

When President Rodrigo Duterte delivered his first SONA on July 25, 2016, he had only been in office for less than a month. However, many of the issues he talked about were already familiar to Filipinos as being close to his heart, thanks to the presidential campaign and his long tenure as Davao City mayor.

GMA News Online looks at some of the issues he discussed in his first SONA, and what the administration is doing to address them.

 

Metro Manila—population 12.9 million and growing, area 614 square kilometers and subsiding—is one of the most densely populated and built-up areas in the world.

Every day, the National Capital Region's residents, plus an estimated three million from other areas, take to the metro's streets to join the commute to and from work, school or recreation.

The result is one of the world's worst cases of traffic congestion, and floods that appear every time it rains.

Pumping stations and a dam

According to Metropolitan Manila Development Authority spokesperson Celine Pialago, 100 to 120 pumping stations are required to fully address flooding in the crowded metropolis.

However, she added, the MMDA currently only has 54 operational pumping stations.

To address the problem, 21 more pumping stations are planned for construction during the Duterte administration.

But even if all 21 are built, it would still leave a shortfall of at least 25 pumping stations.

In a separate interview, Department of Public Works and Highways Undersecretary Karen Jimeno said that the department has introduced box culverts—rectangular concrete structures under roads through which flood waters can be drained—as a flood control component in road-widening projects along Quezon Avenue and Commonwealth Avenue. It will soon be adopted in all road works nationwide.

A dam is also being planned in upper Marikina City, as recommended by the World Bank's Flood Management Master Plan for Metro Manila.

Underground drainage stations are also being considered.

Jimeno said that other flood control projects will be implemented in the country's 16 major basins, including the areas of Pasig City, Marikina City, Laguna de Bay, and Cagayan de Oro City.

“Part of the challenge there is the pollution and poor waste management that happened there through the years, including the location of informal settlers that live along the rivers,” she added.

 

Jimeno believes that the administration's infrastructure projects will present a solution to the problem, and repeated a mantra that she says helped her through law school: "Sometimes achievements require sacrifice."

"Let's face it, when we're building, especially in a congested area like Metro Manila, wala na ibang pupuntahan. Either you decide not to do anything and let the traffic grow through the years, or you just have to bite the bullet and start building," she said.

"Unfortunately, we are the generation that has to sacrifice at the moment because there's no room for growth. If we just let yung momentary inconvenience stop us from constructing, it's not going to be productive for the country," Jimeno added.

Among the infrastructure projects in the pipeline for Metro Manila are 12 bridges, including over the San Juan and Pasig rivers.

Jimeno said that the construction of two of the bridges will be funded by a Chinese grant. "As in hindi siya utang, no strings attached," she said.

Mabuhay Lanes

Pialago added that motorists also have yet to fully maximize the use of Mabuhay Lanes—alternate routes that aim to ease traffic on main thoroughfares.

“[A]ng problema lang hindi karamihan ng mga motorista nakakaalam sa Mabuhay Lanes. We will focus on our information drive and encourage the use of the Mabuhay Lanes. We need to be more active,” she said.

However, said attorney Ariel Inton of the Lawyers for Commuter Protection and Safety, some barangays with jurisdiction over Mabuhay Lanes tend to be uncooperative. “Nagagamit, but it has not been maximized because barangays are not helping out. Mabuhay Lane nga pero may nakaparada,” he said in a separate interview.

Pasig River Ferry

The number of riders using the ferry service has increased to a daily average of 500 to 600 from the previous 200—even though the MMDA has not added any ferries, said Pialago.

"There are still 12 ferries pero mas active yung drive ngayon to entice more passengers," she said.

Full operations, however, are being hampered by water hyacinths, especially during the monsoon season.

"Challenge lang pag lumalabas yung mga water hyacinth kasi nagdudulot din ito ng additional costs. One time we had to suspend operations for two weeks dahil sa dami ng water hyacinth sa Pasig River," Pialago said.

Nonetheless, Pialago said the MMDA has been coordinating with other agencies such as the Laguna Lake Development Authority to address the concern. The MMDA is also set to procure shredders to deal with the aquatic weed.

Emergency powers

A bill granting Duterte emergency powers to deal with the traffic situation is currently pending in Congress.

In his SONA, Duterte also opined that "that the worsening traffic situation could be logically addressed if Congress would also accord emergency powers to the agencies concerned."

Emergency powers would have helped the MMDA "do more," said Pialago.

"Because like right now, we have to coordinate with local government units and barangays from time to time when we conduct road-clearing operations," she said.

She added that even without the emergency powers the MMDA was able to cut travel time along EDSA by 11 minutes. She was, however, quick to say that the traffic agency does not consider the data as a success.

“Traffic has decreased by an average of 11 minutes in EDSA. However, it's not a success for us as we are just sharing the data. The real solutions are additional roads and public transportation talaga,” she said.

Inton pointed out, however, that while the MMDA has cut travel time, the commute from its connecting roads remain congested.

“MMDA says na-cut yung travel sa EDSA, that might be true, but how many minutes does it take to reach EDSA?” Inton said. “To me, it's the same. You may solve traffic in one area and then what about in the other areas?”

Everybody should pitch in

Pialago says that it is still possible for a less stressful commute if both government and the public work together.

"If they are expecting na every day [parang] holiday ang traffic sa EDSA, then that's already impossible. But if you expect na fluid, moving, and less hassle ang traffic then we can," she said.

"Have a heart to help. Simpleng traffic signs sundin natin, tulad ng pagpunta sa tamang sakayan at babaan, [not] beating the red light, leaving the intersection open, that would already help," she added. — BM, GMA News

Tags: sona2017
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