10/09/2026
๐๐๐ด๐๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐บ ๐๐
๐ฎ๐บ๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ ๐ฃ๐๐ฅ๐๐ซ, ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ด ๐ฅ๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฟโ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ
Green Convergence (GC) held its 434th Kamayan Para Sa Kalikasan forum on August 21, 2026, via Zoom and Facebook livestream, with the theme โPasig River Expressway: Pros and Cons,โ examining the projectโs current status, objectives, projected benefits and impacts, and broader concerns surrounding the proposed infrastructure.
The Pasig River Expressway (PAREX) is a proposed 19.37-kilometer, six-lane elevated expressway that would traverse the Pasig River corridor and connect Manila Bay and Laguna de Bay.
Opening the forum, GC Founding Trustee Dr. Angelina Galang acknowledged the severe traffic congestion experienced across Metro Manila, particularly during peak hours and heavy rains, describing it as a persistent problem in the metropolis.
She then raised the question of whether PAREX could effectively address the cityโs traffic woes and whether its potential benefits would outweigh its possible impacts.
Representing the Department of Transportation, Ivan Edward Francisco, Chief Transportation Development Officer of the Road Transport Project Development Division, said PAREX should be assessed as part of the countryโs wider transportation system, noting that its proposed east-west corridor could improve network connectivity and capacity.
โWhile transportation infrastructure has traditionally been assessed based on its ability to move vehicles, equal importance must be given to its contribution toward moving people efficiently, safely, equitably, and sustainably,โ Francisco said.
Francisco cited ongoing and proposed rail, bus, freight, and ferry projects as part of efforts to develop an integrated, multimodal transportation network, and said these modes should complement roads, pedestrian infrastructure, and cycling facilities.
He added that PAREX should undergo a comprehensive assessment covering mobility, sustainability, environmental impacts, public transportation, and the future of the Pasig River as a public asset.
From a heritage perspective, Arch. Dominic Galicia, Former President of the International Committee on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), highlighted the historical role of the Pasig River in shaping the development of Manila and surrounding communities.
Galicia discussed the riverโs significance in transportation, trade, settlement, architecture, cultural exchange, and social and spiritual life, noting that its history extends from the precolonial period through the Spanish colonial era, World War II, and the present.
โThe river has not only witnessed the unfolding of Philippine history, it has actively shaped it,โ Galicia said.
He also emphasized the riverโs role in shaping Manilaโs urban form, including the development of civic spaces, architecture, and heritage sites along its banks.
He also noted that ICOMOS and the Heritage Conservation Society had filed a petition to declare the Pasig River a national cultural treasure.
Galicia emphasized that the riverโs cultural significance should be considered alongside environmental and urban development concerns.
He proposed exploring a distributed network of relatively less costly cross-river connections instead of concentrating traffic through a single elevated expressway, saying that such an approach could help distribute traffic while reducing dependence on one major corridor.
Building on Galiciaโs discussion of the riverโs historical role in transportation, trade, and the overall development of Manila, Jefferson Estela, co-convenor of Ilog Pasiglahin, framed the discussion in the broader question of how Metro Manila has developed around roads and cars.
He noted that post-war development increasingly became associated with roads, resulting in cities organized around cars rather than people.
โBuilding more roads in our cities, elevated or not, will not solve traffic but will only bring unintended consequences,โ Estela said.
He cited potential consequences including increased traffic, flooding, urban heat, air pollution, noise, heritage loss, deterioration of public spaces and community connections, and social and gender inequalities.
Estela also shed light on the potential of the river and its surrounding areas to serve as public spaces through river walks, heritage tours, and other community-centered activities, noting that its approximately 25-kilometer stretch and esplanades could provide significant green and public spaces within Metro Manila.
For the Department of Environment and Natural Resources โ Environmental Management Bureau, Atty. Regina Paula Eugenio, OIC Chief of the Environmental Impact Assessment and Management Division, emphasized the role of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in informing how development projects should proceed.
Eugenio explained that an EIA should consider not only the proposed structure but also its interaction with the river, surrounding ecosystems, and affected communities.
She also reported that the PAREX Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) application had been returned after the proponent failed to submit the required revised Environmental Impact Statement within the one-year extension.
โA good EIA should not merely identify problems. It should help us find better solutions,โ Eugenio said.
She added that environmental considerations should ideally be incorporated much earlier in the development of policies, plans, programs, and long-term strategies, rather than only when a specific project is already being proposed.
During the open forum, participants raised questions concerning PAREXโs necessity, potential ecological impacts, construction materials, flooding, and the projectโs implications for the Pasig River and surrounding communities.
The discussion also raised concerns about the projectโs technical specifications and environmental impacts, citing scientific findings presented during the forum on the potential for its proposed pillars to increase flooding severity in upstream areas.
These concerns prompted questions about the Toll Regulatory Boardโs approval of the project, as well as the Supplemental Toll Operations Agreement and possible options for government withdrawal.
The discussion also raised suggestions for alternative approaches, including a river promenade, a network of bridges, and ferry systems, as well as the importance of incorporating the historical significance of the Pasig River into the curriculum.
Also underscored was the need to examine PAREX not only in terms of road capacity and travel time, but also in relation to mobility, heritage, environmental protection, public spaces, and the long-term development of Metro Manila.
The forum concluded with GC President Victoria Segovia emphasizing the importance of collaborative efforts to preserve the Pasig River, while addressing the countryโs development and transportation needs.
The next Kamayan forum was announced to be on September 18, 2026.
๐๐ข๐ฎ๐ข๐บ๐ข๐ฏ ๐๐ข๐ณ๐ข ๐๐ข ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ช๐ฌ๐ข๐ด๐ข๐ฏ ๐ช๐ด ๐ข ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ต๐ฉ๐ญ๐บ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ช๐ต๐ช๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ณ๐จ๐ข๐ฏ๐ช๐ป๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐บ ๐๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐จ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ข๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ฏ-๐จ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ณ๐จ๐ข๐ฏ๐ช๐ป๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด, ๐จ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ท๐ฆ๐ด, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ช๐ข, ๐ด๐ต๐ถ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ด, ๐ต๐ฆ๐ข๐ค๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด, ๐ค๐ฉ๐ถ๐ณ๐ค๐ฉ ๐จ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ด, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ค๐ช๐ต๐ช๐ป๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ด ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ด๐ค๐ถ๐ด๐ด, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ข๐ญ๐บ๐ป๐ฆ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ค๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ญ๐ถ๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ท๐ช๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ข๐ญ ๐ช๐ด๐ด๐ถ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ต๐ณ๐บ.
๐๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ข ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐จ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ, ๐ท๐ช๐ด๐ช๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฌ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐จ๐ช๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ: bit.ly/GCMembershipRegForm.
