MMDA, Palace to tackle proposals to decongest Metro Manila

MANILA, Philippines — The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority is set to discuss with Malacañang its proposals to decongest Metro Manila, an MMDA official said yesterday.

Procopio Lipana, MMDA general manager, said in a radio interview that the agency has submitted recommendations that are mostly “long-term solutions” to resolve road congestion, including the “aggressive” completion of ongoing infrastructure projects such as the Skyway, the Metro Manila subway and the Metro Rail Transit Line 7.

The MMDA also proposed transferring the regional offices of government agencies in Metro Manila to the provinces, he said.

“I think more than 80 regional offices are in Metro Manila,” Lipana said.

“These are suggestions, but they are not easy to do,” he added.

Meanwhile, Lipana said travel time in Metro Manila remained the same now and before the COVID pandemic hit.

Citing MMDA data, he said an average travel speed of 24.37 kilometers per hour (kph) was recorded in the metropolis in 2017 and 2018.

Travel speed in the metropolis was recorded at an average of 24.52 kph in 2022 and 24.46 kph last year.

The travel speed remained the same, Lipana said, despite an observed heavier volume of vehicles and the completion of infrastructure projects to decongest major roads.

“We admit there is a problem with the traffic situation,” Lipana said.