Work has begun on a nationwide master plan to improve walkability and cycling in the Philippines’ rapidly growing urban centers. But the small budget of a key agency tasked to implement it will mean significant delays, if not a derailment of the plan altogether.
The plan is called the Active Transport Strategic Master Plan (ATSMP). This year, 2025, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) is beginning public consultations in six pilot areas on what the plan should contain, tapping architectural firm Palafox Associates to conduct public consultations (to be part of it, you can fill out this form).
After a year of gathering insights, the ideal scenario would be to start implementing the plan in the six pilot areas: Metro Manila, Puerto Princesa City in Palawan, Iloilo City in Iloilo, Zamboanga City in Zamboanga del Sur, Surigao City in Surigao del Norte, Mati City in Davao Oriental.
But with the significantly slashed budget of the DOTr for next year, there are only enough funds to implement the plan in one area, said the agency’s active transport office head Eldon Dionisio during a panel discussion on Be The Good, Rappler’s community show. The episode aired on Monday, April 7.
For 2026, P69 million has been identified as the budget for the DOTr’s Active Transport Program, an amount that can still change given that the executive branch is still finalizing its National Expenditure Program for the year.
The proposed national budget for 2026 was around P6.79 trillion as of January but the Department of Budget and Management had also said back then that this total may increase if it sees improvements in revenue collections in the first quarter of this year. If the overall budget increases, this may also mean increases for transportation projects, including active transport.
But, if the active transport budget were to stay at P69 million, this would only be enough to implement the Active Transport Strategic Master Plan in one pilot area, said Dionisio.
“We’re still finalizing the coverage, but probably it will cover only one area in the ATSMP coverage,” he told Rappler.
This would mean the pedestrian and cycling infrastructure, end-of-trip facilities (like bike parking and repair stations), and other active transport facilities recommended by the ATSMP would only get built in one of the pilot areas.
This limitation would not fix the fragmented nature of the country’s active transport network and would significantly reduce the master plan’s nationwide impact.
The department had initially asked for P2.4 billion for active transport. According to Dionisio, this would be enough to cover new active transport infrastructure (walkways and cycleways) in 15 local government units, maintenance and improvement of 150 kilometers of existing walkways and cycleways, bike repair stations, and public transport facilities.
This much bigger budget can still be restored. The 2026 NEP can still be revised. If not the NEP, lawmakers in the Senate and House of Representatives can ask for a bigger budget for active transport that will be reflected in the final budget to be signed by the President. It all depends on political will and political support for pedestrians’ welfare.
Many good plans left unimplemented
Without a larger budget, it’s likely the ATSMP will end up like the many plans drawn up by renowned urban planner and architect Felino Palafox Jr.
“Even the plans we did in the mid-70s — I was team leader for the World Bank-funded project, Metro Plan Manila — even our recommendations then, not yet implemented until now. Still suffering from analysis paralysis, lack of continuity, lack of institutional memory,” Palafox told Rappler.
“I’ve observed more than 1,000 cities in 73 countries and seven territories with projects in 40 countries and many of what I’ve shared there, I learned it here…. It’s been used in Dubai, Saudi Arabia, elsewhere in the world. Here, not yet,” he added.
Asked how the ATSMP will differ from past plans that never see the light of day, Dionisio said the plan is expected to include steps on how to institutionalize active transport planning in the country.
“Part of the components of the plan includes the institutionalization, institutional framework, implementation framework, policy planning, policy development, and implementation. It’s a cradle-to-grave approach,” he said.
One existing body that could be utilized is the Interagency Technical Working Group for Active Transportation, which includes several agencies, including the Department of Interior and Local Government which would be expected to involve the cities and provinces that have a frontline role in planning and constructing transport systems.
Palafox said his firm is strongly recommending that transportation planning be included in comprehensive land use planning and zoning, which is typically done at the local level.
Among the many difficulties cited by Palafox in implementing even the most well-thought-out plans is how the quick changes in political leadership lead to a lack of continuity, an essential ingredient in long-term master planning. Mayors and governors only have three-year terms.
In Metro Manila, one of the pilot areas, there are 17 mayors with their own set of plans and ways of doing things, a situation further complicated by the existence of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).
Hope in new leadership
Hope lies in verbal assurances made by the new leadership in the DOTr. Newly appointed Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon has given instructions that priority be placed on improving pedestrian infrastructure.
“The secretary instructed us to focus, on top of establishing bike lanes, construction and improvement of walkways as well,” said Dionisio.
“He wanted to somehow complete the improvement in the experience of the commuters after riding the public transport. Of course, you should provide them the proper infrastructure to get from point A to point B, after the actual vehicle,” he added.
New Road Transport Undersecretary Mark Steven Pastor, who served in the department under Duterte-time transport chief Arthur Tugade, also verbally assured the DOTr’s active transport team that they would get the much-needed funds next year.
Both Dizon and Pastor are “very eager” to promote active transportation, said Dionisio.
The active transport program was allocated P60 million this year, according to the government appropriations act. It is supposed to be spent on the following:
- construction, maintenance, and improvement of protected bike and pedestrian walkways
- procurement of bike racks
- construction of end-of-trip cycling facilities (like bike repair stations, bike parking, showers)
- upgrading of existing pop-up and permanent bike lanes
- planting of urban shade trees
The same budget document states that bike lanes should have “smooth pavement, be free of hazards, and with durable physical separation from mixed traffic lanes.”
Meanwhile, it says pedestrian walkways and crossings should be “at-grade (meaning at level with the ground) for the inclusion of persons with disability, senior citizens, pregnant women, children with strollers, tourists with luggage, and parents with children.”
It adds: “For commuter safety and comfort, pedestrian and cycling infrastructure shall be protected or grade-separated and include shaded walkways and urban shade trees wherever feasible.”
A lost opportunity
If the ATSMP falls by the wayside due to budget limitations, the Philippines would lose an opportunity to overhaul its fragmented, deteriorating, and poorly maintained network of sidewalks, bike lanes, and other pedestrian and active transport facilities.
It would also undermine an oft-cited promise by the Marcos administration in its Philippine Development Plan 2023 to 2028 that pedestrians and cyclists be “accorded highest priority in the hierarchy of road users.”
Abner Manpalaz, co-founder of Life Haven Center for Independent Living, emphasized the importance of good sidewalks and crosswalks for the most vulnerable commuters — elderly, children, and persons with disabilities.
Sidewalks and crosswalks connect commuters to public transportation and are often the last-mile connection, meaning, the final segment between a transit system (like a jeepney or bus) to the commuter’s destination.
“Importante din na kung ikaw ay bulag, paano mo malalaman kung nasaan ka na? Yung mga information na mahalaga. Sa mga older persons, mayroon bang lugar na puwede ka mapahinga kung napagod ka? O mayroon kang health conditions na napagod ako, pahinga muna ako. Kinakailangan lahat ng mga ito ay maisalang-alang natin sa plano natin, sa implementasyon,” said Manlapaz.
(It’s important that if you are blind, you will be able to know where you are. For older persons, is there a place where you can rest first if you get tired? Or if you have health conditions, you can rest. These needs have to be considered in our plan.)
For commuter and cyclist Alyssa Belda, coordinator of Make It Safer Movement, a good active transport network is one in which pedestrians are given the most direct route to their destination.
“What it (ideal system) looks like is connected, unobstructed, and safe and wide enough that you can walk with children or elderly, side by side,” said Belda.
She also challenged the common perception and language that walking and cycling are “alternative” modes of transportation, saying they are actually the most basic modes of mobility. People learn to walk and bike way earlier than they learn to drive.
Challenging car-centric attitudes
Creating bike lanes and widening sidewalks have often drawn negative reactions from vehicle users because of the tendency of these plans to reduce the road space for cars.
The MMDA itself has been a major voice in this narrative, pitting pedestrians’ and cyclists’ needs against car users.
MMDA chief Romando Artes once told active transport advocates that their call to expand bike lanes in Metro Manila was unrealistic. The MMDA is also the agency with an active policy to build footbridges to ensure the unhampered flow of vehicles, a policy that burdens pedestrians and cyclists.
Dionisio prefers a different narrative, one that makes car users see that an improved active transport system actually helps them.
“One commuter you convert to public transport or to cycling is one less car on the road,” said Dionisio.
“You don’t have to look at the bike lanes as mere space that we took from the road. It’s actually reallocating the road space for a more efficient mode of transportation.”
For Jheny Dabu, a campaigner for 350 Pilipinas which advocates for renewable energy and reducing carbon emissions, you can make an even wider argument for active transportation.
“Sa mga kamag-anak ko na lang na may kotse, kapag tinatanong nila ako, sabi ko, although nakasakay kayo sa kotse, bumababa din naman kayo diyan. At tayo naman, wala naman tayong choice doon sa hangin na nilalanghap natin,” she said.
(To my relatives with cars, when they ask me, I say, although you are riding cars, you also get down from them. All of us have no choice when it comes to the air we breathe.)
The Philippines’ transport sector contributed 14% of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2020, according to the Climate Change Commission. The more people who walk, bike, or use public transportation, the less the fossil fuel dependence for mobility.
The figure would be further lessened if transport systems transitioned from fossil fuels, like gasoline, to renewable energy, said Dabu.
For Palafox, the argument for improving active transport is even simpler: “All of us are pedestrians. Once you leave your home, you leave your car, we are pedestrians.” – Rappler.com
Do you care about improving the quality of life in Philippine cities? Join the liveable-cities public chat room in the free Rappler Communities app to be part of a community with the same advocacy as you.