MMDA renews proposal to move Metro to Rizal, Bulacan

After three days of torrential rains left one-third of the National Capital Region covered in floodwaters last week, the head of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) on Sunday reiterated his proposal to relocate a portion of the country’s congested capital to other areas.

MMDA Chair Francis Tolentino said that one viable solution to decongesting the metropolis was to build another one and transfer the seat of government there.

“I’m not saying that that is the only solution but we should open the debate [on] this. It’s about time [we move] a portion of the National Capital Region to a better location,” Tolentino said in his agency’s weekly radio program.

Three months ago, Tolentino pitched his suggestion through his book titled “A New City—A New Metro Manila, A New Future.”

In his book, he pointed to Tanay, Rizal and the towns of San Rafael and San Ildefonso in Bulacan province as possible sites for the new metropolis.

On Sunday, he reiterated his proposal amid plans to construct a P352-billion floodway in Metro Manila, a project which has been approved by the National Economic and Development Authority’s sub-committee on water resources.

The plan covers a total of 11 infrastructure projects, including a large dam in Marikina City which will cost the government P198.43 billion.

“Why not spend this huge capital investment to build new cities and decongest Metro Manila?” he said.

According to him, the move was nothing new, having been carried out by Brazil, Pakistan and Malaysia.

“Many countries have done this before. We would be making good use of our resources if we would move the capital to a place where there is no flood, earthquake, pollution and traffic,” he said.

The MMDA chair clarified that Metro Manila would not be abandoned. “There will be no disruption in business transactions and government services. We will upgrade this place and make it livable,” he said.

He noted that only 18 percent of the land area in the metropolis are open spaces, making it more prone to flooding.

In the past years, the government has also been spending huge amounts of money for emergency relief and reconstruction efforts. “The money spent after Tropical Storm ‘Ondoy’ hit the region amounted to P3.8 billion. We still don’t know how much we lost in this week’s floods,” Tolentino said. Niña Calleja