The Philippines is losing around $55 million a day in lost productivity and potential income due to traffic jams, particularly in Metro Manila and other large cities, as road infrastructure cannot cope with the rising number of vehicles and commuters in urban centers, Arsenio Balisacan, Director General of the National Economic Development Authority, said on July 6, quoting a study by the Japan International Cooperation Agency.
Compared with neighbouring countries, the Philippines spends significantly less on public infrastructure – at only 2.5 per cent of GDP in 2012 – against the 5 per cent average spending in other Southeast Asian countries, the study found. Adding to the problem is that rising spending power of middle-class Filipinos has led to higher car sales.
The government now wants to boost efforts "to decongest Metro Manila and build infrastructure that will ease traffic congestion,” deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said in a radio interview aired over government station dzRB on July 7.
The plans include to double the current public budget for infrastructure to at least $17 billion by 2016 to reach the target of a 5-per cent infrastructure spending-to-GDP ratio.