Expect traffic congestion related to the extensive rehabilitation that the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) will carry out on roads in different parts of Metro Manila.
In his appearance at the budget briefing of the House Committee on Appropriations, DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan said that the department plans to conduct a massive rehabilitation program in Metro Manila to ease the roads for passing and traveling motorists.
“This will include what you said preventive maintenance, overlays, asphalt overlay, certainly the provision of specific lanes for motorcycles and riders… We will discuss this with the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority,” according to Bonoan, who admitted that the traffic would be temporarily congested traffic flow. Still, everything will be fine when the project is finished.
The DPWH has allocated P675.38 billion in infrastructure funds for 2023.
On the other hand, the Congressional Planning and Budget Research Development (CPBRD) criticized the drop in DPWH funding to P88.5 billion next year from the previous P117.5 billion in 2022.
Expect more heavy traffic in Metro Manila – DPWH
In this regard, House Majority Minority Leader Bernadette Herrera criticized the unused funds of the DPWH, but it has unfunded or unfunded projects.
“Meron ho tayong unreleased appropriation na P39 billion and unobligated na allotment na P48 billion nung 2021 at ang pinakamasakit po nag-remit tayo ng overall savings na P3.4 billion noong 2021, para po sa amin na nagkakandarapang mapondohan ang mga priority projects pero masakit na hindi ito na gamit,” said Herrera.
(We have an unreleased appropriation of P39 billion and an unobligated allotment of P48 billion in 2021, and the most painful thing is that we remitted an overall savings of P3.4 billion in 2021 for those of us who are struggling to fund priority projects, but it hurts it was not used.)
Meanwhile, public transportation fares will increase after the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) approves it this Friday. The fare increase includes transport network vehicle services (TNVS).
In a statement, the LTFRB announced that the minimum fare for the first four kilometers in traditional and modern jeepneys would be increased by P1.
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