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Sunday, March 15, 2026 Vol. 21 No. 154
P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 14 pages | 7 DAYS A WEEK
FOR METRO MANILA COMMUTES
FROM left: Jason Salvador, Director for Corporate Affairs and Government Relations, PITX; Atty. Jaime Feliciano, Chief Business Development Officer, Megawide; Mohit Malhi, Chief Operating Officer, PITX; Cisette Ricardo, City Tourism Head, Parañaque; Joshua Rodriguez, DOTR Director IV for Road and Infrastructure; John Lu Koa, President, French Baker; Engr. Govanni Tuapin, President, Internship Crew PH; Richard Raymundo, Managing Director, Colliers Philippines; Kevin Jara, Director, Office Services, Colliers Philippines; and Architect Kenneth Uy, Vice President, Visionarch Inc., on Wednesday during the event “The Rise of TransitOriented Developments: Shaping the Future of Work and Real Estate in Southern Metro Manila” in Parañaque City. JOHN EIRON R. FRANCISCO
F
By John Eiron R. Francisco
OR many workers in Metro Manila, long and unpredictable commutes continue to take a toll on productivity and daily life. But transport officials and industry leaders say expanding transit-oriented developments (TODs) and intermodal hubs could help shorten travel times and improve mobility across the capital. Speaking Wednesday at the event “The Rise of Transit-Oriented Developments: Shaping the Future of Work and Real Estate in Southern Metro Manila” in Parañaque City, Joshua Rodriguez, Director IV for Road and Infrastructure of the Department of Transportation (DOTr), pointed out that TOD is a
well-established model in many first-world countries, where urban planning is often anchored on multimodal transport systems. While the concept itself is not new, he said “the Philippines is now playing to catch up.” Rodriguez cited the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange
(PITX), the country’s first TOD of its kind, as a key example. He said the facility addresses two main objectives: first, it demonstrates that the concept of a central hub and transit-oriented development is a priority for infrastructure investment; second, aside from being a model of a successful TOD, it encourages people to rethink how they plan cities and organize their daily movement. “Overall, [TOD is] not just driving the economy by providing connectivity, it also sends a message to the people that there is hope in terms of building the nation through these types of facilities,” he said. Kevin Jara, Director of Office Services at Colliers Philippines, said the value of “TOD ultimately depends on people, especially in the Philippines, where going to work remains a hard journey.” He added that improving the
daily travel experience for employees, especially the country’s hardworking workforce, “should be considered a basic right.” “This is a conversation that we believe should have happened some time ago, but it doesn’t hurt to repeat and advocate transit-oriented developments,” Jara emphasized, noting that infrastructure development is beginning to take shape, including initiatives from the private sector. “Hopefully, we’ll see a brighter future, a more employee-centric experience for commuters,” he added.
Commuting costs hit productivity
ACCORDING to the 2026 Asia Pacific Workplace Study conducted by Colliers Philippines, 80 percent of employees in the country view commute time and transport challenges as the prime factors influencing their decision to return to the office.
From a business perspective, the study showed that 40 percent of companies prioritize proximity to transport when choosing office locations, while 20 percent focus on cost and another 20 percent consider employee convenience in terms of proximity to home. Jara noted that while cost has traditionally been the primary consideration for Philippine companies in securing office space, priorities are now shifting toward accessibility and convenience for employees. Commuting between central business districts, he explained, often requires two to three transfers, costing P60-P100 per day and adding around 30 minutes per employee. Companies relocating employees back to the office, he said, may need to provide transportation allowances of up to P4,000 per employee over two years to maintain productivity and operations.
“So that has a considerable impact on a typical company. And that’s why TODs are particularly important,” he noted. “Productivity is closely tied to transportation,” Rodriguez told the BusinessMirror on the sideline of the event. He explained that even being 30 minutes late to the office can have serious consequences, including the risk of losing one’s job. Using systems like the Edsa Busway, he said, commuters can avoid traffic delays. “Our latest data show that travel time from PITX to Monumento has been reduced to just 1 hour and 30 minutes, compared with three to four hours before the busway,” Rodriguez said. He added that the time saved not only improves efficiency but also allows employees more moments with family and loved ones. Continued on A2
Looking back on 30 years of Baguio’s Panagbenga
By Marilou Guieb Photos by Mau Victa
I
T was again that time of the year when the city’s main thoroughfares dazzled in the morning sunlight and street dancers in attires of fiery colors pranced to the beat of drums and lyres and the traditional rhythm of beaten gongs.
It was the 30th year of the Panagbenga Festival, a momentous milestone—because for one, as an invented tradition, it paraded—so to speak—strong-headedly through pitfalls, challenges, heartaches and triumphs that come with the baby steps of every new and huge undertaking. But even from the start, it was recognized as the biggest crowddrawing tourism event of the city. A spectacle of success, which also came with problems. Fittingly, as milestone anniversaries are wont to do, the parades highlighted their story—its beginnings and journey through the eras, and for this festival, told
through street choreographies.
Eras of the festival
THE city’s landscape was first portrayed as a Hall of Famer in the National Clean and Green Program. And not to forget, this city in the mighty mountains studded with towering pine trees was dubbed the Summer Capital of the Philippines more than a century ago. It, too, was depicted as a land of culture, of weaving and woodcarving traditions, as lads paraded in g-strings and ladies in ethnic attires with woven baskets drawn to depict native craft. Then came the parade of the 7.7-magnitude earthquake era in
1990 where the elementary students of the Baguio City National High School, garbed in the drab colors of soil, depicted the collapse of a city and its somber morale. So, too, was it the story of a people that came together to rebuild anew from the dust and rubble of tragedy. Dancers held up high placards of houses rebuilt and pine trees that stood erect while the earth crumbled beneath. The festival’s true beginning was dubbed “The birth of a tradition,” said to be the aftermath of the earthquake, but really a vision that was born five years later. This era, depicted by the St. Louis University Laboratory Senior High
School, showed posters of the festival through the years. At the crossroad of Upper Session Road and South Drive is the Panagbenga Park where a bust of the late Atty. Damaso Bangaoet Jr. stands, in the midst of a wellkept and fenced flower garden in tribute to him as the Father of the Flower Festival. In an interview with Bangaoet in earlier years, he told this writer that his visits with his wife, Laurel, in the gardens of foreign cities gave such delight not only to the eyes, but also to their hearts, and it occurred to him that Baguio can be revived as a garden city. He recalled that Burnham Park once had a
Rose Garden section where American roses thrived in full blossom and zinnias bordered the park’s perimeter. “It’s what the city needs. A sense of delight and beauty will bring back the vibrancy of Baguio,” was the idea that turned into a passion after visiting the garden sanctuary in Florida and delighting in the Rose Parade in California. This gave him the inspiration that such an event can jumpstart a flower industry in the city. Thus, in 1995, while he was the vice president of the Camp John Hay Poro Point Development Corporation, he presented the idea to its board of directors, and in 1996 Continued on A2
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 59.5310 n JAPAN 0.3736 n UK 79.4739 n HK 7.6062 n CHINA 8.6486 n SINGAPORE 46.5704 n AUSTRALIA 42.1063 n EU 68.5440 n KOREA 0.0400 n SAUDI ARABIA 15.8652 Source: BSP (March 13, 2026)