The Manila Metropolitan Development Authority (MMDA) is hesitating to reimpose the number-coding scheme, which is meant to ease traffic congestion in the capital region. According to the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), traffic congestion costs Metro Manila P3.5 billion a day. Of course, those numbers become more alarming when we account for the fact that traffic congestion occurs throughout the country. In metropolitan Cebu, for instance, the man-hours lost because of traffic congestion were estimated at about P132 million daily in 2016. Boosting public spending not only addresses traffic congestion, but also offers a pathway to economic recovery after the pandemic.

Source: Manila Times June 26, 2021 14:15 UTC