Business leaders support EDSA rehabilitation

The influential Makati Business Club (MBC) has expressed support for the government’s plan to rehabilitate Metro Manila’s main thoroughfare, emphasizing that it should be done the “right way” to avoid economic disruptions and inconvenience to motorists due to resulting heavy traffic, according to a report by Manila Bulletin.

Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Vince Dizon earlier said that the government is set to begin the long-overdue overhaul of EDSA next month after facing several delays.

Dizon is cautioning commuters and motorists to prepare for longer travel times along EDSA once construction begins.

Sought for comment, MBC executive director Rafael Ongpin said the country’s leading business executives view the rehabilitation as “necessary.”

“Are they doing it the right way? We'll see. But it looks like they've thought about it,” said Ongpin in a media forum last week.

While the government has yet to disclose the full details of its EDSA “rebuild” program, the entire rehabilitation is expected to take between one year and a half and two years.

The government is currently mapping out measures such as alternative routes to ease traffic along the 23.8-kilometer (km) highway.

The DOTr is even in talks with the Ramon Ang-led San Miguel Corp. (SMC) regarding a potential toll suspension in certain parts of the elevated Skyway to provide another route for motorists.

MBC chairman Edgar Chua said the private sector is closely monitoring the potential costs that the anticipated heavy traffic could impose on businesses.

According to a 2017 study by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), traffic congestion in Metro Manila inflicted economic losses estimated at %u20B13.5 billion per day.

The Japanese aid agency had projected that this figure could rise to %u20B15.4 billion per day by 2035 if no interventions are made.

The costs of the upcoming EDSA rebuild project have yet to be determined.

“That’s an indication of the fact that we are sorely lacking as far as infrastructure is concerned, and we need to hurry it up. I mean every administration says they’re fixing it right away, but it continues to be a recurring problem,” said Chua.

In the meantime, Ongpin said companies could consider shifting to hybrid work setups to help ease traffic as well as the daily burden on commuting employees.

“Of course, we encourage it. Actually, we encourage it even in the absence of the EDSA [rehabilitation],” he said.

The Marcos administration previously floated the need for stronger adoption of alternative work arrangements to ensure a more efficient labor market, further reducing unemployment and underemployment in the country.