Last week, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) announced that the long overdue EDSA rehabilitation works will commence this year. Public Works Secretary, Manuel Bonoan, said that the President himself, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr., wanted to improve the ride quality in EDSA.

“The President wants to improve the riding quality of EDSA. We will rehabilitate the entire EDSA starting 2025,” said Bonoan.

Even without rehab works being done at the moment, EDSA traffic is already terrible, sometimes taking motorists up to an hour or more just to reach Ortigas coming from Ayala, Makati. Just imagine how much worse it could get once the rehab works have started.

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has a solution: move the office hours of National Government Agency (NGA) employees to an earlier time.

MMDA Chairman, Atty. Don Artes, said that the agency will recommend to President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. a 7:00 AM to 4:00 PM working hours scheme for NGAs to cushion the impact of traffic in light of the impending rehabilitation of EDSA.

According to MMDA, NGA employees using private vehicles during peak hours will be distributed by 37.15% of the 473,533 employees. This rate is equivalent to an estimated 175,918 employees. Further, 47.20% of the total number of NGA employees, or an estimated 223,508 employees using public transport will avoid joining rush hour alongside private sector employees.

With registered improvement in the traffic flow, the MMDA Chairman will submit a report and recommendation to the Office of the President after getting consensus from the Metro Manila LGUs on their experiences with the modified working hours.

“We’ll get first the consensus of the mayors. We’ll coordinate with them and ask them what their preference is so that the data we’ll be submitting to the President is complete and the recommendations will be in line with various experiences of each of the LGUs,” Artes said in a press briefing after the Metro Manila Council (MMC) meeting.

The MMDA Chief is eyeing to finish the recommendation on the 7 AM to 4 PM work schedule before March, which is the target date for the start of the EDSA rehabilitation.

San Juan City mayor and MMC President Francis Zamora, as well as Pasay City mayor Emi Calixto-Rubiano both expressed their support for the 7 AM to 4 PM work schedule, citing its positive effects on traffic.