TRANSPORTATION Secretary Giovanni Lopez has renewed his push for the proposed P1.756-billion budget for the EDSA Busway, warning that scrapping its funding would leave millions of commuters stranded and set back long-planned improvements to the country’s busiest thoroughfare.
Lopez said that he attended the budget hearing before the Senate Subcommittee on Finance on Friday and defended the allocation under the Department of Transportation’s (DOTr) proposed 2027 budget.
Noting that the busway has served more than 60 million passengers in 2025 alone, the transport chief had pressed the Senate to restore funding for the busway modernization.
“If our busway carousel has no funding, the first to suffer — we can truly say — are the commuters who use it. We are talking of roughly 63 million passengers annually. These are the people who truly rely on the busway,” Lopez said.
The DOTr chief argued that the busway remains one of the few modes of transport where ordinary commuters have an advantage over private motorists.
“We could even compare our busway carousel to private cars — using it is actually better. This is one of the few remaining instances where commuters have the advantage,” he added.
Lopez lamented that zero funding would stall the busway’s modernization, including accessibility and security upgrades already in the pipeline.
“If we cannot fund this, what will happen to the busway stations we are building? What about the elevators, the small features meant for the elderly and persons with disabilities? How will we keep the stations clean and secure? These all need funding,” he said.
He even cited President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive to the agency to modernize the EDSA Busway and ensure it remains accessible to commuters.
The Manila Times was told that it (DOTr) is currently rehabilitating stations in Bagong Barrio, Caloocan; Balintawak, Quezon City; and Guadalupe, Makati City, with new stations set to rise in Cubao, also in Quezon City; Magallanes, also in Makati; and the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange.
The top DOTr official said he was assured by Finance Subcommittee chairman Sen. JV Ejercito that the upper chamber would look for ways to fund the busway system.
“I agree that we really need the busway to be improved, because it is a big help to commuters and ordinary citizens. You are right — this is the one area where they have the advantage over private cars. And of course, we can see that a lot of people are using the busway system right now,” Lopez quoted Ejercito as saying.
