Poe backs ‘outward development’ to save Metro Manila

Senator Grace Poe said on Friday that the government should seriously consider outward development in order to decongest overcrowded Metro Manila.

She made this remark after President Rodrigo Duterte declared that the metropolis may become a dead city in 25 years.

“Metro Manila may have no future if we do not act now,” Poe said in a statement.

“(W)e should seriously consider and push for outward development to decongest Metro Manila for the medium to long term but right now we have to jumpstart that initiative,” Poe said.

For the government to achieve this, political will and emergency powers would be needed should President Duterte would certify the matter as urgent, according to Poe.

“For this, political will is needed and the emergency powers could come in handy if only the President would certify this as urgent,” she said.

On Thursday, Duterte lamented the traffic situation in Metro Manila, suggesting that investors should consider developing industrial areas outside the National Capital Region.

“Manila, I think will be in about 25 years… be dead city. It will start to decay and there is no way that we can rehab the place,” he said in a speech in Pampanga.

But Poe was optimistic that the Duterte administration’s P8-trillion “Build Build Build” infrastructure program would improve Metro Manila’s perennial traffic problem.

“Perhaps with the ‘Build, Build, Build’ projects of President Duterte like the Mega Manila subway, the completion of NLEX, SLEX, etc., we can see a marked improvement in the near future,” she said.             /kga