Since the Arroyo administration, I have been submitting suggestions to the Office of the President on how to solve Metro Manila’s traffic problem.
International transport experts say the problem is basic: We do not have enough roads for the number of vehicles in the metropolis to relieve the daily horrendous traffic gridlock.
The government, with its power of eminent domain, can expropriate vital “connecting” roads in private subdivisions in order to make them accessible for public use and relieve major public roads (e.g., Edsa, Shaw) of heavy traffic. This may be a harsh measure to some of the elite living in private enclaves, but it is for the public good.
For instance, Harvard Street in Wack-Wack Subdivision connects Shaw Boulevard to Ortigas Avenue. There are many more such “connecting” private subdivision roads in Makati and elsewhere. By simply expropriating these roads, the government can make them available to the public outright. So, how about it? All it takes is political will!
—JOSE CASALS,
Casiguran, Sorsogon