PBBM, MMDA tackle traffic management plan for NCR, nearby provinces

TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT PLAN. President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. (left) meets with Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Chairperson Romando Artes at Malacañan Palace in Manila on Tuesday (Feb. 4, 2025). Artes gave updates on the MMDA’s Comprehensive Traffic Management Plan for Metro Manila and its nearby provinces. (PCO Photo)

By Ruth Abbey Gita-Carlos, Philippine News Agency

MANILA – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Tuesday convened a meeting at Malacañan Palace in Manila to get update on the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority’s (MMDA) Comprehensive Traffic Management Plan (CTMP).

Other officials present at the meeting were Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla, Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan, and Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista.

“President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Chairman Romando Artes discuss updates on the agency’s Comprehensive Traffic Management Plan (CTMP) for Metro Manila and its nearby provinces,” the Presidential Communications Office, which shared photos of the meeting, said in a statement.

The MMDA, composed of the 17 local government units (LGUs), and concerned government agencies, approved in November 2022 the CTMP, a five-year action plan which aims to ease traffic congestion in the National Capital Region, the country’s economic and business center.

In the 23.8-kilometer EDSA alone, there are at least 400,000 vehicles passing daily from Caloocan City to Pasay City, but its carrying capacity is for 300,000 vehicles only, MMDA data last year showed.

The CTMP establishes an inclusive, people-oriented, sustainable mobility system by optimizing transportation infrastructure and implementing an effective traffic management strategy.

It covers 12 traffic management strategies, including the urgent and continuous improvement of 209 identified traffic bottlenecks, especially the 42 major or priority intersections, 64 road segments and seven areas.

Other strategies include the improvement and upgrading of the traffic signal system; further improvement of intersections and traffic corridors; and enhancement of intelligent transportation system.

The five-year action plan also seeks the strengthening of traffic regulation and enforcement; enforcement of road safety; promotion of active transportation; and development of a comprehensive traffic management database.

The CTMP recommends the strengthening of MMDA’s capacities in traffic management; enhancement of MMDAs external coordination with traffic management organizations; promotion of comprehensive transportation or traffic management planning by LGUs; and strengthening of the transportation network.