Roads in Metro Manila and other urban centers have become more congested in recent weeks ahead of the holiday season, as vehicle sales continue to rise at a rapid pace.
The traffic congestion, according to a congressman, is now a crisis that can cost the economy up to P6 billion in lost productivity each day by 2030, if it is not carefully addressed.
Rep. Strike Revilla of the 2nd district of Cavite province says the Philippines is projected to lose up to P6 billion a day by 2030 due to traffic congestion in the National Capital Region and other urban centers, based on a study by Japan International Cooperation Agency.
The Jica study found that the national economy was losing P2.4 billion in lost productivity each day in 2012, a number that was expected to dramatically rise in the next decade.
This prompted Revilla to file House Bill No. 1666 also known as the “Public Thoroughfare Crisis Act of 2016.”
Traffic congestion in Metro Manila has direct impact on nearby urban local government units like the city of Bacoor, he says, as millions of workers of Metro Manila reside in these LGUs and the big volume of commuters to and from these localities also contribute to the crisis experienced in the NCR.
“Drastic traffic reduction measures are necessary to be undertaken through traffic management reforms,” Revilla says in a statement.
“This bill wishes to address the crisis, stop economic losses as a result thereof, and provide relief to the millions of commuters, by granting emergency powers to the president of the Philippines, empowering him to implement emergency measures and mechanisms for the same,” Revilla says.
Automotive companies sold 323,928 cars and SUVs, on top of hundreds of thousands of motorcycles in 2015. Industry groups expect to sell another 370,000 vehicles in 2016.