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Marcos: No EDSA rehab until rerouting plans ‘solid,' LGUs ready

The rehabilitation of the Epifanio de los Santos Avenue or EDSA, the country's busiest highway, will not take place until a 'solid' rerouting plans have been put in place and local government units (LGUs) are ready, President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. said over the weekend. Marcos last week announced the one-month postponement of the EDSA rehabilitation, initially scheduled to start on June 13, 2025, as he said the two-year timetable would be a big sacrifice as this would lead to heavy traffic conditions. 'Ang sabi ko nga ay masyadong matagal naman 'yung dalawang taon para maabala ang mga kababayan natin (Like I said, two years is too long for our countrymen to be inconvenienced),' he said in a vlog on Sunday. 'Hangga't wala akong nakikitang solid na mga rerouting plans at masiguro na handang handa na ang mga LGU, 'wag muna natin gawin, ayusin muna natin ang mga plano,' he added. (Until I see solid rerouting plans and we ensure that LGUs are thoroughly ready, let us postpone and fine-tune plans first.) Transportation Secretary Vivencio 'Vince' Dizon on Tuesday said Marcos wants to expedite the rebuilding of the major thoroughfare — which spans 23.8 kilometers — from two years to six months. An P8.7-billion cost has been estimated to modernize EDSA and make it flood-free. The rehabilitation was supposed to pave the way for the 24-hour odd-even scheme on EDSA, and the waiving of toll in parts of Skyway Stage 3, among other interventions. A study conducted by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in September 2014 in conjunction with the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) found that the gridlock plaguing the streets of Metro Manila is costing the Philippines at least P2.4 billion a day. Economists now expect this to be higher. In the same vlog, the President also cited the rehabilitation of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), spearheaded by the New NAIA Infra Corp. (NNIC) under a public-private partnership. 'Bilang gateway ng ating bansa, itong mga airport natin kumbaga ang first and last experience nila sa ating bansa, kaya't hindi sapat na magaganda ang tourist spot natin. Kailangan ganon din kaganda ang mga airport natin. Hindi lamang ang Manila airport dinedevelop natin pati ang mga regional airport,' Marcos said. (As the gateway to the Philippines, our airports are the first and last experience in our country, so it is not enough that our tourist spots are beautiful. Our airports also need to be as beautiful. Not only the Manila airport, but we are also developing our regional airports.) The NNIC, made up of San Miguel Holdings Corp., RMM Asian Logistics Inc., RLW Aviation Development Inc., and Incheon International Airport Corp., took over NAIA on September 14, 2024. It inked a P170.6-billion concession agreement with the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to take over NAIA in March 2024, after it offered the highest share of its future revenues from operating the gateway to the government. —RF, GMA Integrated News