Philippines news: Metro Manila traffic costing economy a whopping $64 million per day
As traffic jams continue to impede the economic growth of the Philippine islands, a recent report states that the traffic is costing the country's economy at least Php 3 billion ($64 million) a day.
Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said on Wednesday that the figures are inclusive of infrastructure projects that still need to be hastened so the problem can be addressed.
Balisacan cited the 2012 study by Japan's International Cooperation Agency wherein it was recorded that time lost by people within the traffic jams plus the cost of operating vehicles in Metropolitan Manila and neighboring towns add up to around Php 2.4 billion ($51 million) per day.
Three years after the study, the cost over a year has resulted to 0.8 percent of gross domestic products. This means the bigger population to date and with more vehicles hitting the road, plus other costs such as the health of daily commuters, gives the country a safe and conservative estimate of around Php 3 billion.
According to the Associated Press, Balisacan also mentioned that agencies are now under-spending due to the failure of complying with the requirements for a public funding that is more transparent and free of corruption, thus leading to the delay of completing government infrastructure projects.
"It makes sense really to fast-track the completing of all these infrastructure projects because the costs are immense even from a strictly economic point of view," he said.
The domestic risks that the Philippine economy could take include disasters in reconstruction of the delayed infrastructure projects, and natural phenomenon like typhoons and drought brought by El Niňo — the warming of areas in the Pacific that affects worldwide weather.
The dilemma brought about by El Niňo is expected to last until early next year and is said to be as intense as that of the 1997-1998 phenomenon that drastically damaged agricultural production by 24 percent, Balisacan said.
On a positive note, the chief economic planner said the country's economy is expected to rise by 6–6.5 percent this year, though lower than previous records, but is still an improved figure among others in the region.
