Escudero backs postponement of EDSA rehab: ‘Kulang sa plano ang DPWH’

Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero on Monday welcomed the postponement of the EDSA rehabilitation, citing some lapses on the part of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

“Tama lang para sa akin dahil kulang pa ang pagpaplano tila dito ng DPWH. Masyadong matagal ang dalawa o tatlong taon para gawin ‘yan. Kawawa naman ang ating mananakay, kawawa naman ang nasa gumagamit ng EDSA na pinaka-main route natin,” Escudero said in a press conference.

(It's right for me to postpone the rehabilitation because the DPWH seems to lack planning here. Two or three years are too long for that. It will cause inconvenience to commuters and everyone using EDSA, which is our main road.)

The Senate President also called out the DPWH for supposedly not providing alternate routes that would cross the Pasig River given that the Guadalupe bridge has to be repaired.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Sunday announced the postponement of the EDSA rehabilitation that was supposed to begin on June 13.

He said the project needs to be studied for one month to know if there are new technologies that can be used to hasten the rehabilitation of the 23.8-kilometer road.

Escudero believes the one month postponement would be enough to evaluate if the rehabilitation still needs to push through or not.

GMA News Online sought a comment from the DPWH, and will update this story once it responds.

Meanwhile, Senator Pia Cayetano also expressed support for the President’s directive to suspend the implementation of the EDSA rehabilitation.

“The horrendous traffic that would result from the road closure would be burdensome for millions of commuters who already endure some of the worst congestion in Asia," she said in a statement.

"While the need to modernize our roads and infrastructure is clear, the government should strive to do so with the least possible inconvenience to the com2muting public – people who are simply trying to get to work, school, or home to their families,” she added.

Senators Joel Villanueva, JV Ejercito, and Grace Poe have also aired earlier their support regarding the matter. —AOL, GMA Integrated News