Since the first visit of Enrique Penalosa, former Mayor of Bogota, Colombia, to the Philippines in December 2004, the Partnership for Clean Air, CAI-Asia, the University of the Philippines - National Center for Transportation Studies (NCTS), the United States Agency for International Development, through its Energy and Clean Air Project, and other organizations have been trying to promote the Bus Rapid Transit System as a viable alternative to the current public transportation system in Metro Manila and help to drastically improve air quality. CAI-Asia and the Partnership for Clean Air in cooperation with other organizations have dialogued with relevant government agencies, like DOTC including LTFRB, NEDA, and the Metro Manila Council in order to promote BRT. A training course on BRT has also been organized by CAI-Asia in November 2005 in Antipolo with support from the GTZ - Sustainable Urban Transport Project and the United Nations Centre for Regional Development.

In mid-2006, the USAID-Energy and Clean Air Project has agreed to support a Pre-feasibility Study for a Bus Rapid Transit System in Greater Metro Manila. In support of this study, the DOTC has formalized a Technical Working Group to supervise and provide guidance to the conduct of the BRT Pre-FS. The UP-NCTS has been contracted by ECAP to conduct the BRT Pre-FS and they are now mid-way in its implementation. A stakeholder forum focused on public transportation operators was recently held last 12 April in UP-NCTS in order to know the sentiments and opinions of the operators in coming up with a better public transportation system in Metro Manila.

Discussions focused on the need to have a stronger and unified institutional support for the regulation of public transportation in Metro Manila. The need to eradicate corrupt practices and the strict and "unbiased" enforcement of the law were also cited several times by the transport operators. The results of this stakeholder forum will be used by the UP-NCTS in identifying the gaps in the institutional set-up and coming up with recommendations on how the institutional setup in the current system can be improved especially considering the introduction of a BRT system in Metro Manila.

A mid-term report will be submitted by UP-NCTS to the USAID_ECAP and a TWG meeting will be organized towards the end of this month to discuss the next steps for the BRT Pre-FS. The TWG, however, is mainly a government-led venue for policy discussion with a limited membership. We will in the future update the members of this listserv on the conduct of the Pre-FS and when a broader stakeholder dissemination workshop will be organized.

In parallel, NCTS has recently completed a Capacity-Building Program for Mainstreaming Environmentally Sustainable Transport (EST) in Local and Metropolitan Development for mid-management staff of LGUs in Metro Manila. This was done through a series of inter-LGU consultation and strategic planning meetings and capacity-building activities aimed at mainstreaming EST objectives. A Declaration on promoting environmentally sustainable transport was signed by participants and officials of the LGUs in Metro Manila. The Declaration envisions Metro Manila to be well-coordinated and systematic in urban development and management. It seeks for the establishment of a pilot benchmarking and recognition system for best practices in Environmentally Sustainable Transport (EST) policies and the provision of technical assistance and technology transfer on EST strategies.

The participating cities also developed action plans for promoting EST for five city clusters in Metro Manila, namely Manila-Pasay and QC (MAPA-QC), Makati-Taguig-Pateros (MATAPAT), Pasig-Mandaluyong-Marikina-San Juan (PAMAMARISAN), Caloocan-Malabon-Navotas-Valenzuela (CAMANAVA), and Muntinlupa-Paranaque-Las Pinas (MUNTIPARLAS). Most of the action plans placed a high priority in improving the public transportation system and facilities, including Bus Rapid Transit systems, and promoting non-motorized transportation.

This Capacity-Building Program was done through the Vice Mayor’s League of the Philippines – NCR Chapter (VMLP-NCR), the UP National College of Public Administration and Governance (UP-NCPAG), the UP National Center for Transportation Studies (UP-NCTS) in cooperation with the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). More information is available at http://www.ncts.upd.edu.ph/CBP/EST-mainstream001.html#CBP

All in all, we hope that all these efforts contribute to the realization of implementing a BRT system and a more sustainable urban transportation system for Metro Manila.