CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – Central Luzon’s Regional Development Council (RDC) has endorsed the immediate construction of the proposed elevated Manila Bay-Cavite-Bataan Coastal Highway not only to link Northern and Southern Luzon, but also to act as buffer from a swelling Manila Bay during typhoons.
“The highway would enhance movement of goods in Central Luzon, Metro Manila and CALABARZON (Southern Tagalog region) thus strengthening trade relations among the richest regions of the Philippines,” the RDC said in a resolution tasking the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to give priority to the project.
The RDC noted that the highway “would also serve as a barrier should Manila Bay swell up during typhoons or southwest monsoon rains and flood coastal areas in Cavite, Bulacan, Pampanga and Bataan.”
The RDC did not say how much the project would cost, but it will apparently be foreign-funded.
Critics of the project said that the Manila Bay-Cavite-Bataan Coastal Highway is among the projects envisioned way back during the Marcos regime as part of the project to transform Metro Manila into a “City of Man,” and later became part of the Medium-Term Development Plans called “Philippines 2000” under the Ramos administration and “Boulevard 2000” under former Pres. Arroyo.
Under the present government, this project is covered by the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) program.
The PPP projects to be implemented up to 2016 will be funded by the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Asian Development Bank, Japan International Cooperation Agency and the Japan International Blind Exchange and Cooperation Network.
Other projects under the PPP include the Laguna Lake 2000, covering the reclamation and the construction of dikes and roads around the lake purportedly for exclusive subdivisions, an airport and tourist facilities.
Another such project is the North Bay Boulevard Business Park (NBBBP) project as part of the Manila Bay Development Plan that covers the construction of infrastructure projects along 156 hectares of the Parañaque-Las Piñas-Manila-Navotas-Bulacan-Pampanga-Bataan coastline.
The Manila Bay-Cavite-Bataan Coastal Highway is part of this project.
The RDC is the highest policy-making body in Central Luzon and serves as the counterpart of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board at the sub-national level.
It sets the direction of all economic and social development efforts in the regions and serves as a forum where local efforts can be related and integrated with national development activities.
Council members include all governors, city mayors, municipal mayors of capital towns, presidents of municipal mayors’ league, regional directors of national government agencies and representatives from the private sector.
