Davao, Manila, Caloocan LGUs say they're addressing traffic woes

The local government units of Davao City, Manila, and Caloocan admitted on Friday that traffic congestion remains a problem in their respective areas, but solutions are being undertaken after the three were named among the “slowest cities” by a traffic data company. 

Davao City ranked eighth, Manila at 14th, and Caloocan at 26th in “slowest cities” among 500 areas in the world, according to TomTom’s 2024 Traffic Index.

According to Joseph Morong’s report on "24 Oras," the slowest travel in the country averages more than 24 hours per 10 kilometers. 

For its part, Davao City said that the congestion is due to the increase in investments in the city which also leads to more visitors. 

It will be difficult to widen the roads in the city given how old it is. But there are projects in the pipeline to address the traffic congestion such as the Bucana Bridge, which is expected to be finished in the last quarter of 2025. 

The City of Manila, meanwhile, said that traffic remains a challenge given the daytime population of 2 million people. 

“Manila being the most congested city with its old landscape and a daytime population of 2M, traffic will always be a challenge,” said Manila LGU spokesperson Princess Abante. 

“...rehabilitation of Lagunsilad Underpass to greatly improve the traffic in the area and the safety of our motorists. Clearing operations and regularly done,” she added. 

But the Manila LGU added that there should be discipline among the drivers, motorists, and pedestrians. 

Meanwhile, the Caloocan city government serves as a gateway to those coming from the north going to Metro Manila. 

“Caloocan is one of the most populated cities in the Philippines with more than 1.7 million residents…Caloocan is also the gateway to Metro Manila of the people living in the northern part of the region and nearby provinces,” the LGU said. 

“To address this, the city government is actively implementing traffic management strategies and road improvement projects,” it added. 

For the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), the traffic in the capital region is actually not as bad as many think. 

Data showed that the average travel time in 2024 is 24 minutes per 10 kilometers. This is faster than the 24.50 minutes per 10 kilometers in 2023. 

Further, the MMDA said that there are improvements to the traffic situation in Metro Manila despite the increased number of vehicles on the road which reached 3.6 million a day in 2024. 

“Nagi-improve naman po ung traffic situation natin due to the interventions na inimplement natin,” said MMDA chairperson Romando Artes. 

(Our traffic situation has improved due to the interventions that we have implemented.) —Vince Angelo Ferreras/LDF, GMA Integrated News