An online rant of Rep. Richard Gomez (Leyte, Fourth District) on Thursday, August 29, against EDSA Bus Carousel Lane or EDSA busway, earned the public’s ire.
In a now-deleted Facebook post uploaded while he was stuck in traffic in his air-conditioned vehicle, Gomez suggested opening the EDSA busway to cars during heavy traffic to ease congestion.
“Two hours in EDSA traffic and counting. From Makati, Ayala nasa SM EDSA pa lang ako up to now. Eh QC ang punta ko. 1 or 2 hours pa ba?!” the actor-turned-politician wrote in the now-deleted Facebook post.
“Ilang bus lang ang gumagamit ng bus lane, bakit hindi buksan during heavy traffic para mas lumuwag ang traffic?” he suggested.
Several commuters were not pleased with the lawmaker’s suggestion, suggesting he should be taking the bus instead.
“Wow Richard Gomez. Just wow. Eh kung sumakay ka na lang kaya ng bus? Nakakahiya naman sayo na may sariling sasakyan at mas kumportable kesa sa amin na nagsisiksikan makauwi lang ha,” an X user said.
“This kind of post from politicians just shows how detached they are from material issues, and they just complain about it when it personally affects them,” it added.
“For everyone’s information, and to Richard Gomez prior to the existence of bus lanes in EDSA, traffic in that area already persisted and bus lanes helped commuters to navigate their way out of traffic and now you want commuters to be stuck in traffic with you?” it emphasized.
The Facebook page and several others noted that road expansion is not a solution, citing that it is about “basic spatial displacement.”
“If you opened up the bus lane for private vehicles then it’s going to be filled with private cars and subsequently will also be a victim of congestion,” the page said.
“Dear Congressman Richard Gomez: I understand the challenges our commuters face daily while traveling in Metro Manila. Opening bus lanes exclusively for car owners and VIPs undermines the existing transportation framework intended for public benefit,” another said.
“As a lawmaker, your influence is crucial in prioritizing improving our mass transportation system. By enhancing the infrastructure and efficiency of public transport, we can alleviate traffic congestion and provide a more equitable commuting experience for everyone,” an online user commented.
Suspended Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Task Force Special Operations Unit head and former EDSA traffic czar Edison “Bong” Nebrija chimed in on the online discussion about Gomez’s post and uploaded a photo stating that: “Our mindset should be moving people and not cars.”
“We are all part of the problem but we can also all be part of the solution,” Nebrija said.
Some online users remembered former Public Works and Highways chief now Sen. Mark Villar’s April 2021 post forecasting reduced traffic congestion by 2022.
A mobility advocate said Gomez should have lodged his complaint to Villar instead.
In 2017, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)’s study stated that economic cost of traffic is P3.5 billion a day in Metro Manila. In 2022, it said the economic losses from metro traffic ballooned to P4.9 billion daily.
JICA’s projection says that the economic losses could reach P9 billion a day by 2030.
