Several lawmakers on Thursday asked the House of Representatives to restore the budget of the Epifanio delos Santos Avenue (Edsa) bus carousel system for 2027 to help more Filipino commuters in their everyday lives.
During the House committee on appropriations’ briefing on the proposed budget of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) for next year, Akbayan party-list Rep. Percival Cendaña pointed out that the service contracting program (SCP) and fuel subsidy for the Edsa busway were not allotted funding.
When asked of the reasons why, Transport Secretary Giovanni Lopez said that the same programs under the Edsa busway system were also not given budget under the 2026 National Expenditure Program (NEP). He noted that they were just allotted funding afterwards due to the crisis in the Middle East which affected many livelihoods of public utility vehicle (PUVs) drivers.
The national government implemented the SCP earlier this year, where PUVs such as modern and traditional jeepneys and buses were paid corresponding amounts based on plying certain kilometers. The government also extended fuel subsidies worth P12 per liter in response to the rising oil prices for passenger jeepneys and UV Express.
Lopez then said that they were informed that the lack of budget for these programs was due to the limited fiscal space and the agency’s obligation rate of its allocated funding.
‘So makikita naman natin yung rason ay talagang sinusolusyonan kaya nakikita naming sanhi ay siguro yung limited fiscal space ng gobyerno at hindi dahil may kakulangan ang DOTr,’ Lopez added, noting that the agency’s obligation rate for 2026 already stood at 82.4% as of July 2026.
(We can see that there were solutions, that’s why we can see that the reason was due to limited fiscal space of the government, and not because of DOTr’s shortcoming.)
With this, Cendaña called for the restoration of funding for the Edsa busway system as he emphasized the importance of public transportation to commuters.
‘Napakarami sa ating mga kababayan ang umaasa sa public transport para makapasok sa kanilang trabaho at makauwi sa kanilang mga tahanan,’ the lawmaker said.
(Many Filipinos depend on public transport to go to work and go home to their loved ones.)
‘I hope that the Congress through this committee will not take this budget cut lightly and act to restore the Edsa bus carousel budget and kasama nyo kami para tiyakin ito,’ he added.
(I hope that the Congress through this committee will not take this budget cut lightly and act to restore the Edsa bus carousel budget and we are with you to push for this.)
Budget cut repercussions
Dumper party-list Rep. Claudine Bautista-Lim asked the DOTr of the impacts of the defunding of Edsa busway to its programs and services as she acknowledged the benefits the busway brings to commuters everyday.
DOTr Senior Undersecretary Mark Steven Pastor shared three programs that may suffer from the budget cut.
He said that the maintenance and operations of the busway system and the security of passengers may be compromised. He explained that the salaries and contracts of the Special Action and Intelligence Committee for Transportation and security services are under the project management office of the Edsa busway.
Lastly, he noted that the biggest impact may be felt over the rehabilitation of the busway as the agency is currently renovating several busways to improve the ridership and convenience of commuters. He shared that the agency requested P1.7 billion for the rehabilitation of 12 more busway stations next year.
With this, Bautista-Lim called on her fellow lawmakers to consider restoring the budget for the Edsa busway.
‘Malaki ang impact ng pagdedefund ng Edsa busway. I am appealing to my colleagues here in Congress and the committee on appropriations that maybe we can give the requested amount of P1.7 billion to support the maintenance and operations of the Edsa busway,’ she said.
(The defunding of Edsa busway has a huge impact. I am appealing to my colleagues here in Congress and the committee on appropriations that maybe we can give the requested amount of P1.7 billion to support the maintenance and operations of the Edsa busway.)