August 29, 2024 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Transportation (DOTr) has received support from lawmakers to increase the funding for active transport to P2.6 billion in 2025, far from what was approved in the spending plan.
During the budget hearing at the House of Representatives, legislators wondered why the DOTr was given only P60 million for active transport in the national budget next year.
Transportation Undersecretary Jesus Ferdinand Ortega said the DOTr requested an allocation of P2.6 billion for active transport, but the Department of Budget and Management rejected this and placed just P60 million in the 2025 National Expenditure Program (NEP).
Ortega said the DOTr had planned to spend the P2.6 billion to construct more bicycle lanes and pedestrian walkways in high-volume areas. For cyclists, the DOTr was eyeing to build additional 260 kilometers of bike lanes in 2025 had its proposal been accepted.
The long-term target is to put up 2,400 kilometers of bike lanes by 2028. The DOTr has finished 812 kilometers to date, but Ortega said the agency may lose its momentum if it receives just P60 million next year.
“Regarding bike lanes, we would like to target 260 kilometers more for 2025. Unfortunately, the budget given to us (in NEP) is to maintain the present. Definitely, we will be asking Congress to increase this for us to achieve our objective of having more than 2,000 total bike lanes nationwide,” Ortega said.
Kabataan party-list Rep. Raoul Manuel said the DOTr may fail to achieve its goal of persuading Filipinos to consider alternative modes of mobility if funding for active transport is slashed.
With this, 1-Rider party-list Rep. Ramon Gutierrez proposed that Congress recalibrate the budget for active transport to support the mobility needs of cyclists and pedestrians.
“How could this be a regular program if it is effectively cut off and is reduced to maintenance? I hope this is something that our colleagues can consider raising again,” Gutierrez said.
So far, the DOTr has laid out bike lanes in nine regions nationwide. In Metro Manila, the agency has paved bike lanes in 15 cities, maintaining such infrastructure along congested roads including EDSA to promote alternative means of transport.
However, not everyone in Congress is a fan of the bike lanes put up by the DOTr, such as Iloilo Rep. Lorenz Defensor, who questioned the necessity of such infrastructure on national roads.
As an alternative, Defensor asked the DOTr to consider placing bike lanes separately from national roads, which will be fully dedicated to public and private vehicles.
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