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Here’s a mobility recap of Bongbong Marcos’s 2024 SONA

More roads, more bridges, more railways

Did you watch the 2024 SONA on Monday? PHOTO FROM RADIO TELEVISION MALACAÑANG

On July 22, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. (or BBM) delivered his third State of the Nation Address (SONA). For those unfamiliar, the SONA is the president’s golden opportunity to talk about the nation’s most pressing problems, the achievements of his administration, and the plans for the rest of his term—all within an hour and 30 minutes. Being a mobility website, we tuned in to hear what BBM had to say regarding transportation, and here’s a quick recap.

The 19.81km access road will connect New Clark City and Clark International Airport. PHOTO FROM PHILIPPINE INFORMATION AGENCY
The 3.17km Panguil Bay Bridge will be the longest sea-crossing bridge in Mindanao. PHOTO FROM DPWH
Construction of the Metro Manila Subway is ongoing. PHOTO FROM SUMITOMO MITSUI CONSTRUCTION

As of May, 12,000km worth of roads and more than 1,200 bridges had been built and upgraded, with more in store for the Maharlika Highway spanning from Luzon to Mindanao.

The C-LEX, the NLEX-SLEX Connector, and the Plaridel Bypass will be finished within the year, while the CALAX and the C5 South Link will be fully operational by next year.

Since the Philippines is an archipelago, bridges are important in connecting the different islands. Two major bridges will be opened this year: the Panguil Bay Bridge in northern Mindanao, and the Guicam Bridge in Zamboanga Sibugay.

Aside from the developments in road infrastructure, Marcos proclaimed that the Philippines is undergoing a “railway renaissance” with projects such as the Metro Manila Subway, the North-South Commuter Rail, the MRT-7, the LRT-1 Cavite Extension, and the PNR Bicol Line.

The lack of public transit makes NAIA inaccessible.
Commuters and transport workers don't have it easy. PHOTOS BY SAM SURLA

In a nutshell, BBM talked about the major land transportation infrastructure that will further connect the country. However, there is one elephant in the room that he failed to address: the transport crisis in Metro Manila. You see, while these developments are good in the grand scheme of things, they don’t address the basic mobility needs of Filipinos.

Pedestrians and cyclists are still highly at risk due to the lack of infrastructure and the hostile street design. Commuters struggle daily to get a ride, while transport workers are barely surviving. And people waste countless hours in world-leading traffic congestion because of increasing automobile usage.

Getting around Metro Manila is needlessly challenging. Even if our public transit was efficient, people wouldn’t be encouraged to ride it if the stations were inaccessible by foot. And what goes on here has consequences for the rest of the Philippines.

Metro Manila is the pattern that other cities will try to conform to. If the capital doesn’t get its urban transit system right, then it’s not unlikely that other places will repeat the same mistakes with the same recipe for disaster—more roads, more cars, and more traffic.

How can the Philippines progress if the population isn't mobile? SCREENSHOT FROM FACEBOOK

Thankfully, not everything is doom and gloom. The Department of Transportation is pushing for more active transport infrastructure, such as walkways, bike lanes, and end-of-trip facilities, as part of the National Transport Policy and the 2023-2028 Philippine Development Plan.

There’s also the Pasig Bigyan Buhay Muli, which seeks to revitalize the Pasig River. And the Electric Vehicle Industry Development Act continues to promote EVs as a cleaner and more sustainable mode of transport.

Overall, the national government under BBM seems to have a better direction when it comes to solving the country’s transportation issues. But unless the president and those with power and authority are willing to humbly forgo luxuries such as a private helicopter or a motorized convoy—even just for a day—they will remain out of touch with reality.



Leandro Mangubat

Leandro is our staff writer. Although having a background in mechanical engineering, he enjoys photography and writing more.



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