Episode 11 - EDSA Rehabilitation: A Step Forward or a Cause for Greater Congestion?

Is the EDSA rehabilitation a genuine move toward progress—or just another episode in Metro Manila’s long history of traffic chaos?

While countries like Japan and Germany rebuild roads overnight with cutting-edge efficiency, the Philippines sticks to its old habit of “reblocking” with little visible impact.

With the 2026 ASEAN Summit looming, we ask: is this meaningful development, or just cosmetic work to impress visitors?

In this episode, we unpack the politics, urban planning gaps, population pressure, and the everyday reality of navigating EDSA.

This transcript is machine-generated, and we apologize for any errors.

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the host and guests, and do not necessarily reflect those of the producers, network, or sponsors. Listener discretion is advised.

Philippe: Alam mo ba sa US, pag may nasirang daan, siguro mga one week nila bago maayos ‘yan. Which is mabilis na. So, I’ve talked about extreme—silang-sila lang na daan, one week. Sa Japan daw, same situation, may nasirang daan—one day daw. Overnight. Pero mas matindi dito sa ‘tin, sa Pinas. Bakit dito, hindi pa sila? Hilais na.

Gab: Advanced work is here for mga Filipino. So mo na.

Philippe: Hindi mo na experience. Hindi mo na experience ‘yung maganda sa amin. Ang daan? Ina-ice na ngayon. Ano yung problema sa daan na amin? Wala na ice na? Kala ko ma-ice na pala?

Gab: Ayan na ‘yung ano. Masisimula ‘to next month.

Philippe: Proactive natin? Hindi pa. At the time of this recording, we are in the month of March. And then, lumabas yung balita na magkakaroon ang EDSA ng rehabilitation. When was the last time na-rehabilitate si EDSA?

Because from what I know, well, I’m a rehabilitation—laging re-blocking.

‘Di ba ‘yun yung nangyayari? So trivia—did you know that I did research on this, about re-blocking ng roads? And I figured that the only country in the whole planet that does re-blocking of roads is Pinas.

Totoo ‘to. In any country, small or big, the only country that does that is Pinas. Isn’t that amazing? At least, magaling tayo sa isang bagay—re-blocking of roads. I don’t know what are the benefits of re-blocking roads, pero all I know, puro aberya lang ‘yung nangyayari. Traffic and… Ginagawa nila at the wrong hours as well. Ginagawa nila during rush hour. During the daytime. Di ba, pagka gano’n. Madami operations sa gabi. ‘Yun iba, 24 hours. The problem is, hindi na natin nararamdaman. Kasi nakikita lang natin during rush hour, during commuting hours. But ang point ko is, why are we the only country that does re-blocking? Ibig sabihin, hindi siya ganun ka-efficient sa ibang bansa. And they have better technologies to maintain their roads, like in Germany.

Trivia: in Germany, ‘yung highway nila—like ‘yung version nila ng NLEX—pag umulan, the asphalt, the roads, sinisipsip yung tubig.

Yes. And the absorption of water is very efficient. They made a test—may tanker na nagbukas ng gripo, so bumuhos yung tubig. Hindi bumabaha. That’s how efficient the roads are.

Gab: It’s futuristic.

Philippe: Yes. So habang umuulan, it’s very advanced, progressive. If you touch the ground, it’s dry. That’s how road technology works in Germany. Of course, the home country of German ingenuity, where vehicles like Mercedes and BMW come from—and motorbikes. Pero dito, ‘yun nga.

When was the last time we rehabilitated? Long time ago. Probably more than a decade. Maybe double that. Pero ‘yun, end of March daw beginning ng rehabilitation. And then I think the bus lane is going to be switched to the outer lanes. Kasi they’re going to rehabilitate part of the bus lane. And then wow—hanggang saan ang EDSA? It starts all the way from Monumento And then where does it end? It’s too far.

What’s the last part of EDSA? Up to Pasay ba? MRT. Ano yung tuloy ng MRT? Pasay ba, is that going to MOA? Ah, papuntang MOA. Yes, papuntang MOA. So was it as in near MOA, Globe? Tapos na. No more EDSA. Was it pagtawid mong Pasay Bridge? Yes, sama. Pasay City. It’s too much.

How long is it going to take?

Okay, I’m looking at this article at GMA—runs from Monumento to La Loma. Ah, I was right. To Parañaque Integrated Terminal. Ah, so to PITX? So dulo pa? Up to MOA sa PITX? Yes. So is that right? I mentioned, right? PITX. The rehabilitation works according to the government as part of the country’s preparation for the Association of Southeast… Ah, kasi may ASEAN. We have the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit. So ASEAN Summit. That’s why they plan to rehabilitate.

Gab: Para at least presentable daw yung Pinas. So nalagyan ng presentable. Kasi now wala tayong summit, no? Yes, ‘yun kaya. Hindi porket may ASEAN lang din pala sila magre-rehabilitate.

Philippe: I’m going to have a look. ASEAN Summit 2026. Kasi next year daw, ‘di ba? Yes. So how long is that? We’re in March. So if it’s going to take the whole…

Gab: Aabot ba?

Philippe: ‘Yun ‘yung tanong. Aabot ba? Nga ba? Whatever it is, pero if it’s going to be the first quarter of next year, they have end of March. So they have three quarters to finish it by the end of 2025. Hindi pa poor man’s traffic na because of this.

Gab: It’s another sakit sa ulo.

Philippe: When was the last time you were in EDSA?

Gab: Yesterday.

Philippe: I try to stay in my city. If I need to go down south, I don’t take EDSA anymore. Unless it’s a… I always take Skyway. Mas mabilis din. It depends. If I need to go to Makati, I could take Skyway. But if I need to go to Ortigas or Pasig—no way. No way, ‘di ba? From what I know, the only way going to Pasig or San Juan Greenhills, I think there’s an exit from Santa Mesa.

That’s the only way I could go to Pasig. But still, if I need to go to C5, or if I need to go to BGC, there’s no way I could hit Skyway. I have to go through EDSA or C5 in the base.

Philippe: I try to avoid taking EDSA because even without the rehabilitation, ang sakit na sa ulo.

Gab: At some point EDSA is already traffic during lunch—as early as 4PM. So it takes someone who comes from the north, going somewhere in Pasig—it takes you 1.5 hours or better yet 2 hours. It’s bad. It’s worse already.

Philippe: It’s not bad, no? It’s worse already. You know the time that I enjoyed EDSA? Pag wee hours. When I say wee hours, I’m talking about 12 midnight to 2AM. That’s the only time that—wow, it’s so good at EDSA. Pero back then, nag-uwi ako kasi nagsundo ako sa airport, mga 11PM. 11:30 na sa daan kami—wow, traffic! Parang hindi na tulong ‘yung mga tao. Ano meron? Lahat night shift? Ano ‘yun? ‘Di ba? It just shows ano ba yung population natin ngayon sa Pinas?

Gab: It’s a number that keeps on growing.

Philippe: For sure. Let’s look at 2025 stats. Hindi ko wala pa 2025, but…

Gab: As of 2025, I think for the historical data, it’s about 120 million. With a growth rate of 1.48%.

Philippe: Okay. Let’s talk about population here in Metro Manila. We have 15 million in Metro Manila alone. 15 million. That’s a big number. Kaya congested ang Manila. But I’m happy about the new airport. Makakaranas tayong airport sa Bulacan just to ease the congestion. But have you noticed? Ano yung mga cost ng traffic sa EDSA? Have you noticed? I’m just curious. So much cars.

Hindi lang ‘yun. But may araw na smooth, may araw na hindi. Ano ‘yung… okay, given sa dami, volume.

Gab: Okay. But ano yung main cause? You guys have an idea? Driver. Driver? Dami entitled na driver. The time, schedule.

Philippe: Sige. Given volume, anything with volume, kaya funnel—lagi mong over, talagang volume na cause ng traffic. Pero hindi strategic kasi ‘yung mga crossings, ‘di ba? Or ‘yung mga areas. Hindi siya strategic. Laging bottleneck. ‘Yung bottleneck—That’s the keyword: bottleneck. Kasi… ano yung parang… Malapad, sisikip, lalapad, sisikip, lalapad. I have no idea who—sino ba yung gumawa ‘non? Siguro hindi na-anticipate back in urban development planning na magiging sobrang traffic sa Pinas. Yeah. Wala na tayong solution d’yan sa bottleneck. Kasi Commonwealth pa lang… diba..

Start ka na. Start ka na. Start ka na. Ano? Ilan lanes? End lanes? Tapos iipit ‘yan. Magiging parang 4 lanes sa likod tapos magiging 10. I’m not sure how many lanes, pero alam ko, madami.

Gab: Expect na lang mag-merge lahat ng maayos—na which doesn’t happen.

Philippe: It never happens. I think the best success for EDSA was the bus lane. Best.

Para sa ‘kin, it’s successful ‘yun. At gusto na ‘yang tanggalin. I don’t know who are your idiots who wanted, pero… ‘Yung mga nagsabi na tanggalin naman—nako, experience nila? Tapos sumakay sila. Ni sila sumasakay.

Gab: So they don’t know, ‘di ba? D’yan eh. Yes, I know. Nako, sumakay na ako. P2P. Try ko lang. Trip lang. Just to see it, experience. Pakita kayo ‘yung footage, para at least we could document it. Tapos ilabas natin sa podcast. I-orasan natin. From Monumento, mag-P2P tayo or regular bus carousel. Para ma-experience natin.

Philippe: So, yun—what are your thoughts about rehabilitating EDSA? Is it good for the country? Is it bad? Long term, short term, ano ba yung mga thoughts and comments niyo about it?

Syempre ako, iwas na ako—I have the privilege na umiwas. When I say privilege kasi, syempre as a business owner, PR advisor, I have flexibility in time. But not everyone does. So kawawa yung mga tao, yung mga nakapila talaga. Pero did you know that—may nakita ako dati, ‘yung picture na pila sa MRT or sa bus—akala ng iba, minimum wagers lang ‘yon. Tama. Pero halo-halo na sila. Ang daming corporate workers do it. Andami. They just don’t post about it.

Tapos nakakalungkot lang, of course, we have people that work online, tapos ipo-post nila: “Suwerte ko, hindi ako d’yan.” Naawa naman ako dun sa mga nakapila. Nakita ko ‘yung post na ‘yon—di ko na lang babanggitin kung sino—pero it’s… sorry to say, ah, hindi ko sinisiraan ang mga VA, seryoso. Oo, suwerte mo talaga.

So make sure you do well in your job. Yung iba kasi na nakapila d’yan, wala silang choice. Tama. Pero don’t scrutinize them. Choice nila ‘yan kung gusto pa rin nilang mag-commute. Based on their skills, baka masaya sila sa trabaho nila. Yeah.

That’s why I don’t like to compare when people say, “Oh, mag-VA ka na para hindi mo na ma-experience ang traffic.” Yes, totoo naman. But you don’t need to sugarcoat or romanticize it. Hindi ako natutuwa sa gano’n. Iba d’yan, natatrabaho na nga—kami, mga executive—hindi mo lang alam. Diba? Yun.

Okay, so anything else you want to add?

Gab: Maghintay ka na lang, kapit lang. No choice talaga. Netflix na lang habang nagda-drive.

Philippe: Bawal ‘yun, distracted driving ‘yan! Mahuli ka ng MMDA.

Gab: Oo, bantayan niyo yan d’yan sa traffic. Bantayan niyo ‘yung tao habang nanonood ng Netflix habang… sa gitna ng balas. Pero kung trip niyo naman balas, podcast na lang.

Philippe: Subscribe na kayo. Manood na lang kayo ng podcast namin ni Sir Philippe Soriano.

Gab: So habang traffic, make sure to listen to Philippe Siryan Podcast on Spotify.

Phillipe: Huwag na sa YouTube, ha? Kasi distraction ‘yan.

Philippe: Yeah. Take the time to listen to our podcast. And remember: the job? Advance ang mga Pilipino mag-isip. Hindi pa sira, inaayos na.