President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. may have a solution to the worsening traffic congestion in Metro Manila and other major cities in the country.

“(W)e had a very long discussion on the traffic issue and the President gave instruction to everyone to submit their recommendations, how their respective offices will adjust and configure their work environment,” National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said yesterday after a meeting of the Cabinet that tackled the issue.

“What the President really wants is a comprehensive, holistic approach to solving the traffic problem — not the piecemeal approach as has been the case all these years,” the NEDA chief said. “For example, in the planning of our transport system, we should be looking at an intermodal transport system and see how they operate efficiently as a whole.”

Balisacan underscored the significance of integrating various modes of transportation seamlessly into the urban landscape, including the ongoing development of infrastructure such as subways, expressways and bridges. 

However, the socioeconomic chief said these factors have to be seen in the context of all the other transport systems including bike lanes, motorcycle lanes, feeder roads, location of industries, residences, and the like.

“The whole system, it cannot be just seen as piecemeal. Because if there’s a chokepoint in one, it affects the whole system, that’s why we really look at it as a system — and that’s the direction of the President,” Balisacan said.

Several studies showed that traffic-related issues in the country leads to around P3.5 billion in economic losses per day.