Malabon City’s Lambingan Bridge under repair

MANILA, Philippines—The Malabon City Council is looking into remedies to ease the severe traffic in the city’s major streets as rerouting plans have been put in place for the repair of the Lambingan Bridge.

In a privilege speech in a recent council session, Councilor Nadja Vicencio said that while the rehabilitation of the Lambingan Bridge, which connected the villages of Concepcion, Baritan, Niugan and Catmon, would be beneficial for everyone, the remedial measures have been disruptive so far, especially for jeepney drivers.

“Just recently, I received a number of complaints from drivers of public vehicles, saying that their earnings have decreased, especially those who ply the City Hall, Bayan, and Tonsuya routes, because of the heavy traffic brought by the rerouting,” Vicencio said.

She noted that while the city government has installed security cameras and deployed traffic enforcers in busy roads to manage traffic, these have not been enough.

“We are seeking a response to this problem from the city government through the Public Safety and Traffic Management Office,” Vicencio said.

“If they could, we hope they could give the council some ways to address the problem. We hope they could tell us if we can pass ordinances to alleviate the current situation,” she added.

The city government announced the closure of the Lambingan bridge on June this year, to give way to the Department of Public Works and Highways to rehabilitate it.

The project, which is expected to be finished next year, has prompted the city government to draft traffic rerouting schemes, as it is located in a major thoroughfare used by public and private vehicles alike.