00:00The gridlock over the past weekend along a stretch of the Marcos Highway, which snarred traffic to a standstill and stranded motorists and commuters for up to six hours,
00:10was not lost on the President, who expressed urgency for stopgap measures and long-term solutions on the megacities' worsening road woes.
00:18As such, the MMDA is under the gun to work on the President's order, especially in utilizing over a billion pesos in unspend allocation.
00:27Our Kenneth Paciente fills us in with the details.
00:32A part of Marcos Highway turned into a virtual parking lot last Saturday due to gridlock caused by the holiday rush.
00:40Because of these, many affected motorists and netizens couldn't help but lose their temper.
00:45President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has already ordered solutions to address the severe congestion.
00:49According to the Palace, the President wants concrete action.
00:53Alam naman din po ng MMDA, alam din po ng DOTR, alam din po ng ating mga ahensya kung ano ang naisang Pangulo.
01:01Dapat lahat ng problema magawa ng solusyon.
01:05May mga pagkakataon lang siguro na may mga instances na hindi agad-agad na kayang solusyonan.
01:13Especially pagka yung patungkol sa traffic pag itong klaseng season.
01:17Pero ginagawa po ng paraan katulad ng sinabi po ni MMDA share Don Artes.
01:21The President is also closely monitoring the issue of more than 1 billion pesos in unused funds
01:27from the 2024 budget of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority or MMDA,
01:31which was flagged by the Commission on Audit.
01:33These funds were earmarked for flood control and traffic management.
01:37Kaya po, tinututukan na rin po ng DPWH yung mga patungkol po dyan para po maiwasan ang ganyang klaseng delay.
01:44At ang delay po kasi alam natin ito ay hindi magandang epekto ng servisyo para sa taong bayan.
01:50So, tututukan po ito ng DPWH at ng MMDA.
01:53At yun din po naman ang utos ng Pangulo.
01:55The MMDA meanwhile explained that they have already caught up with the use of these funds.
01:59They clarified that the pandemic caused delays,
02:02preventing them from utilizing allocations dating back to 2018 until last year.
02:07Sa ngayon po, nakaka-catch up na po tayo.
02:09In fact, satisfactory po ang rating na ibinigay sa atin ng World Bank.
02:14In fact, about a week or two ago, nag-meeting po kami ng mission ng World Bank.
02:22At wrapping up na po tayo.
02:24At we can assure the public na inayos na po natin yan.
02:31Nakaka-catch up na po tayo.
02:32At magagamit po ng tama yung pondo for the purpose intended.
02:36Regarding traffic this holiday season, especially last Saturday's gridlock along Marcos Highway,
02:41the agency said its interventions continue, particularly clearing operations along Mabuhay Lanes.
02:47They are also maintaining coordination with local government units to ensure smoother traffic management.
02:53Pero kahapon, nagpulong na po tayo sa pangungunan ng MMDA,
02:58kasama po ang LGU ng Marikina, Pasi, Queso City, Tainta at Antipolo.
03:04At nag-propose po tayo ng mga mitigating measures para hindi na po maulit.
03:12At mamaya po may okina inspection po tayo today, mamayang hapon,
03:18para po pinan yung aming proposal at para mag-agree po ang lahat po ng mga LGUs na may access po dito po sa Marcos Highway.
03:29Overall, the MMDA admitted that holiday traffic is unavoidable.
03:33On EDSA alone, they estimate around 450,000 vehicles per day during the first two weeks of December,
03:40almost double its 250,000 vehicle capacity.
03:43Because of this, the MMDA is coordinating with the Department of Transportation
03:47to extend the operating hours of the MRT and LRT lines
03:51so more commuters have transport options and won't need to bring their cars.
03:56While although mall sales are not prohibited,
03:59the MMDA is urging malls to avoid holding mall-wide sales.
04:03Hindi naman po natin pinagbabawal yung sale per se, per store.
04:08Ang pinagbabawal lang natin ay yung mall-wide sale na kabuuan po ng mall ay lahat po ng stores ay may sale.
04:15So hindi naman po yan nakaka-restraint ng trade.
04:18So, at nag-agree po sila dyan.
04:21Dahil pag sobra rin po ang traffic,
04:24nawawala po yung foot traffic sa kanilang mga malls,
04:28nadi-discourage din po pag pumunta yung mga mami-mili,
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