I came across an article a few months ago praising several of our cities in the Philippines having landed in the top list of cities in Southeast Asia in terms of clean air. Good to hear. However, a separate article that came out around the same time admitted that Metro Manila and other Philippine cities had little or outmoded air monitoring systems, implying the inaccuracy of the air cleanliness rankings.
Air quality is a matter of national concern given the rise of health costs, mostly respiratory illnesses, resulting from degrading air quality. In 2018, the country had the third-highest number of deaths due to air pollution, according to the World Health Organization. Another study equated health costs to around 1.5 percent of our gross domestic product.
Transport accounts for 34 percent of all energy related greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions in the air we breathe in Metro Manila. Hence, the real need to push for low carbon transport and programs.
And of all the government climate-change initiatives, three mobility programs come to mind because of their strategic importance to our climate-change efforts. The first one is the Public Utility Modernization Program, mistakenly heralded as the program solely phasing out the jeepneys. But it is not just about the vehicles. Yes, there is the required shift to the cleaner Euro 4 engines and the vehicle design where passenger capacity increases to almost double the present capacity. There is also the required consolidation of operations and the rationalization of routes. All of these should result in more efficient jeepers trips on the road. Significant, as these jeepers currently account for 40 percent of all motorized transport trips nationwide.
Another initiative to be implemented in the next coming months is the mandatory Motor Vehicle Inspection program of the Land Transportation Office. The program aims to check the roadworthiness of all vehicles prior to registration. This will eradicate the present unreliable smoke emission-testing requirement that we have right now. With this program, all motor vehicles will have to pass a roadworthiness test of more than 50 items to include proper suspension, brakes, lights and—smoke emission.
But what could make the real difference is the push for more walkable areas. In a particular study that centered on city bus trips on Edsa, it was found out that a majority of the commuters took the bus for trips of less than 3 kilometers. Three kilometers! That’s just around a 30-minute leisurely walk. For a biker, even easier. But that is if you have the space to walk or bike on. Fortunately, there is a breathe of fresh air as we see the sustained campaign of the DILG to clear the roadways and sidewalks. There are also several programs on the pipeline by the DENR, DPWH, DOTr, and the MMDA that are pedestrian-centered, consisting of elevated walkways, bike lanes and open spaces. This should be coming soon. More walkable space means less carbon emissions, less traffic congestions and better personal health. Plus, it is definitely cheaper to build and maintain.
With all the heated discussions we are currently having on solving traffic—volume reduction, segregated lanes, illegal parking, where to put the terminals, and even making Edsa one way, etc.; maybe it is just really going back to the basic set of mobility—that is walking, even on the short distances, that we can have a less congested, pleasant commuter experience and a cleaner air environment for us and for future generations.
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Thomas “Tim” Orbos was former DOTr undersecretary for Roads and general manager of the MMDA. He is currently undertaking further studies at the McCourt School of Public Policy of Georgetown University. He can be reached via e-mail at: thomas_orbos@sloan.mit.edu