Metro Manila Subway: When Right of Way Gets in the Way

Emerrie Joy Fegarido, a guest experience representative for an international hostel chain, commutes from Novaliches to Makati daily, spending at least four hours a day going to and from work six days a week.

Emerrie, 29, has been a commuter in Metro Manila for nearly a decade, with her travel routine a daily struggle of long wait times, traffic snarls, different modes of transport, frequent transfers, and hurried walks.

“My usual route is I walk going towards the UV Express terminal and then go to MRT North Avenue and then from there, either mag-e-EDSA (take the EDSA) Carousel bus or MRT going to either Guadalupe Station or Buendia Station,” Emerrie said.

“From there, I’ll take a jeep from the MRT station going to JP Rizal, or kung (if) Buendia naman, going to Petron Makati Avenue or Buendia Avenue tapos (and) both routes, jeepney routes, I have to walk pa ulit pagbaba tapos ganon po ulit ‘pagka ‘pag pauwi,” she added matter-of-factly.

(From there, I'll take a jeep from the MRT station going to JP Rizal. If via Buendia, it will be going to the Petron station on Makati Avenue or Buendia Avenue. Both are jeepney routes and I have to again walk when I alight. It will be the same route going home.)

With less than seven hours of sleep daily on average, Emerrie wakes up one-and-a-half hours before she leaves her house in Novaliches around 7 a.m. Her commute to the office takes two to two and a half hours. Her travel back home takes longer.

“”Pag naabutan ka sa carousel ng Buendia or Guadalupe, ‘yung long lines or kasi walang… hindi mabilis ‘yung dating ng susunod na bus. Ang mas matagal pa pala is ‘yung UV Express sa TriNoMa going to Novaliches,” she says.

(If you get caught in the carousel of Buendia or Guadalupe, there are long queues because... there is no fast turnover of buses. The UV Express from TriNoMa to Novaliches takes even longer.)

The commute takes a toll not only on her energy but also on her pocket. Emerrie's daily fare costs P200 back and forth, but she said this could go as high as P270 for a one-way motorcycle taxi ride. Opting for ride-hailing services, Emerrie would have to pay up to P600 or more.

She is one of the nearly 520,000 daily commuters who could already be using the Metro Manila Subway Project (MMSP) had it not been delayed. It was targeted to start operations in 2021.

Three years later, the project is still at 16% physical progress—pertaining to the civil engineering works—as of August 2024, according to its implementor, the Department of Transportation.

Touted as the “Project of the Century,” the P488.48-billion project is a 33-kilometer underground railway system through eight cities in Metro Manila.

Read the full story here.

This story was produced with support from Internews' Earth Journalism Network. It was first published on September 30, 2024 by GMA News and has been lightly edited for length and clarity.