By BusinessWorld,Cedtyclea

Copyright bworldonline

THE Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) said the Department of Transportation (DoTr) needs to allocate more funding to complete the EDSA Busway project.

“The MAP… urges the inclusion in the 2026 budget of the Department of Transportation of funds to complete the badly needed infrastructure component of this long-delayed project… There has been no meaningful budget allocation for the infrastructure, except for a few hundred million pesos, while the Busway project has been waiting for the long-delayed privatization to happen,” MAP said in a statement on Monday.

In a letter dated Sept. 24, the business group urged Acting Secretary Giovanni Z. Lopez to include busway funding in its 2026 budget proposal.

“The Congress now has the opportunity to provide the budget for the vital Busway dedicated stations which can be easily completed in 2026 when bidded out in batches to large reputable contractors,” MAP said.

The DoTr said the EDSA Busway served more than 63 million passengers in 2024, or about 177,000 commuters daily.

The EDSA Busway, a dedicated bus lane along Metro Manila’s busiest thoroughfare, consists of 23 stations operating round-the-clock.

“The government’s commitment to ease the plight of bus commuters must be met. Since the government is not inclined to appropriate funds for flood control projects, funds there can be more ideally reallocated to the Busway System,” MAP said.

The DoTr sought P936.09 million for the EDSA Busway project but it has only been allocated a fraction of this amount in the 2026 National Budget Expenditure Program. — Ashley Erika O. Jose