The Department of Transportation (DOTr) on Sunday said President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos, Jr. listened to the people in suspending the EDSA Rebuild project, so the government can use modern technology to prevent a potential two-year traffic congestion nightmare during its implementation.
“The President has ordered the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Transportation (DOTr), Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), and other concerned agencies to further study and concretize plans on how to better implement the EDSA rebuild by speeding up its construction to six months using modern technology to minimize the inconvenience the EDSA rebuild will bring to the Filipino people,” DOTr said in a statement.
President Marcos felt the pulse and listened to the Filipino people and ordered a whole-of-government approach in implementing effective and modern ways to speed up the EDSA rebuild.
“The President’s order is clear to study the plan to rebuild EDSA thoroughly because two years of traffic woes and suffering are unacceptable, a waste of time and opportunity for commuters and motorists, especially with the upcoming school year,” the DOTr said.
“The DOTr will ensure that the agency collaborates with partner agencies to fulfill the President’s order to ease and speed up the travel of commuters and motorists,” it added.
The EDSA Rebuild project was initially scheduled to begin on June 13, 2025.
According to a study by the Japan International Cooperation Agency or JICA, the economic impact of road traffic was pegged at P3.5 billion a day for Metro Manila and P2.4 billion for surrounding provinces such as Bulacan, Rizal, Laguna and Cavite in 2017.
These losses would rise to P5.4 billion per day in NCR and P5.9 billion per day in surrounding areas by 2035 if no action is taken.
The study further showed that the total annual direct economic cost of traffic congestion stands at more than P1.277 trillion.
