Transportation chief Lopez appeals to Senate to fund EDSA busway in 2027

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION. Public utility buses queue for passengers at the Pasay EDSA busway/carousel on March 24, 2026. Rappler The Department of Budget and Management’s proposed 2027 budget does not include funding for the EDSA Busway MANILA, Philippines – Transportation Secretary Banoy Lopez appealed to the Senate finance committee to restore funding for the EDSA busway in the 2027 national budget. The Department of Budget and Management’s (DBM) proposed 2027 budget does not include funding for the EDSA busway, also known as the National Capital Region Busway project. Lopez said the Department of Transportation (DOTr) had requested P1.756 billion for the project, but no allocation was included in the proposed budget. “The one that will suffer are the commuters who are using the busway carousel,” Lopez said during the Senate finance committee budget hearing on Friday, September 18. The EDSA busway serves around 63 million passengers annually, Lopez said. Without funding in 2027, Lopez raised concerns about the DOTr’s ability to continue improving the busway, including planned stations and measures to keep them accessible to senior citizens and persons with disabilities through elevators. Senate finance committee chairperson JV Ejercito expressed support for Lopez’s appeal and the continued improvement of the EDSA busway. Three busway stations are targeted for completion this year, with three more planned for completion in 2027. The Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) also backed Lopez’s call for funding for the EDSA busway. “All measures must be given to ensure the primacy of the government’s policy of mass transit over private vehicle use on our limited road space. To do less would only add to the massive traffic problem,” MAP said in a statement on Friday. The Move As One Coalition first flagged in August the absence of funding for the EDSA busway and other key public transportation programs in the proposed 2027 National Expenditure Program. “A supermajority — 94% — of Filipinos do not own cars; 94% support the construction of safer, wider bicycle lanes and walkways. Why are their mobility needs not reflected in the proposed National Expenditure Program 2027?” the coalition said in a statement. Aside from the EDSA carousel, several train projects and fuel subsidies were also left unfunded in the 2027 budget proposal. – Rappler.com How does this make you feel? Loading