Sotto suggests countryside development to decongest Metro Manila
October 31, 2020 01:44 PM
Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III believes the Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pag-asa Program can help decongest Metro Manila and ease frequent traffic jams.
“The best reform is to develop the countryside economically and proceed with a Balik Probinsiya Program."
Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III vouches for the Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pag-asa Program which Senator Bong Go had pushed earlier this year.
“The best reform is to develop the countryside economically and proceed with a Balik Probinsiya Program," Sotto said.
DOTr still needs to improve mass public transport
Apart from Sotto, Senators Nancy Binay, Imee Marcos, and Joel Villanueva all think the Department of Transportation (DOTr) has not been providing enough solutions to improve the constant traffic issue in Metro Manila.
Even under general community quarantine, traffic jams and gridlocks occur regularly in the city.
Sen. Binay commented that the DOTr should act on encouraging people to take public transport to reduce vehicle congestion, while Sen. Marcos believes that there is a lack of mass public transport in the country, to begin with. Sen. Villanueva added that improving the state of the country's transportation system should be prioritized by the government alongside its COVID efforts.
"Proceed with a Balik Probinsya Program"—Sotto
Countryside development is one of the solutions to relieve Metro Manila of traffic, according to Sotto.
Along with a lack of quality public transport, there are also too many people living and working in the national capital.
Sotto believes the Balik Probinsya Program can help ease the overpopulation of Metro Manila which currently houses around 13 million people.
The Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pag-asa Program seeks to provide equity in resources throughout the country and boost countryside development.
While there are many newly-opened highways and some still in progress under the Build. Build, Build program, Sotto still thinks it is not a long-term solution.
"The engineers and leaders of the past had a very short foresight. At the moment, the additional highways and superhighways will do, but not in the long run. It will not suffice unless we move out of the metropolis,” Sotto said.
