Open military camps, cemeteries to ease traffic—architect

Architect and urban planner Felino ‘Jun’ Palafox Jr. FILE PHOTO

Opening the gated cemeteries and military camps for traffic were among the immediate solutions that urban planner Felino Palafox Jr. is proposing to help decongest the metropolis.

“You ply over Edsa, napaka-traffic. ‘Yung roads sa military camps, walang traffic; sementeryo, walang traffic. Why not buksan ‘yung sementeryo for pedestrians and bicycles saka subdivision roads?” Palafox said during a hearing of the Senate committee on public works on Tuesday.

(You ply over Edsa, there’s very heavy traffic. The roads in military camps have no traffic; cemeteries have no traffic. Why not open cemeteries for pedestrian and bicycles, as well as subdivision roads?)

He said it would have been better also if the government had invested on a railway system, instead of skyways, which he said would soon become “elevated parking lots” anyway.

“I don’t have anything against ‘yung mga skyways; these are just to alleviate the situations. But in 15 years, these elevated skyways, they will be elevated parking lots; you can put it on record,” Palafox said.

“So it might have been better kung nilagay na lang Light Rail Transit from Alabang to Makati,” he added.

Palafox lamented that until now, the country has been following the “wrong” urban model, which is the car-oriented Los Angeles. And it seems that some leaders of industries and government, he said, were not even aware of it.

He said more than 300 recommendations have already been made to address public works, transportation, housing and flooding in Metro Manila but the problems persisted.

The master plan rehabilitation of Pasig River, for instance, was not implemented during the past administration because Malacañang was the “number one violator,” Palafox said.

“Sinabi ko rin sa Malacañang last administration, nagalit sila sa akin (I told Malacañang in the last administration, they got mad at me). The government should be the exemplar, not the exempted,” he said.

“Paano namin maalis yung 20,000 urban poor families along Pasig River, number one violator is Malacañang. Walang sewage treatment plants ang Malacañang; how do you expect the urban poor to follow the Pasig River master plan…?” the urban planner added.

(How can we remove the 20,000 urban poor families along Pasig River when the number one violator is Malacañang? There are no sewage treatment plants in Malacañang; how do you expect the urban poor to follow the Pasig River master plan?) JE/rga