Duterte predicts Metro Manila’s decay in 25 years

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has obviously given up on any possible way of improving Metro Manila as he predicted that it will soon become a “dead city” in at least 25 years. "Manila, I think, in about 25 years, will be a dead city. It will start to decay," he said before a crowd of mostly Kapampangans inside Clark on Thursday. "Ten years from now, they should close Manila and start to develop this, this is the best. Something similar to Clark in other places – Batangas, Cavite," said Duterte, lamenting that Manila is among the few places in the world without adequate sewerage system. Duterte proposed closing factories and opening them elsewhere. He seemed to allude for the need to decongest Metro Manila all the while lauding the possible developments for Clark. Duterte said that there is a need for mass transport systems so as not to replicate the situation in Metro Manila. “You rehabilitate the place, you have to, baklasin mo ang Maynila (break Manila apart) to do that," Duterte added, stressing the need to develop other key cities in the country. It could be remembered that since 2015, leaders of the Pampanga Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. (PamCham) have been reiterating the need to decongest Metro Manila. However, the need to make Clark and neighboring cities infrastructure-ready has become a key issue with rapid developments in Pampanga already causing traffic and raising issues on proper urban planning. The country is also in the risks of paralysis if a magnitude 7.2 earthquake or other large scale disasters hit the country’s the financial and governing center in Metro Manila.

Read more: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/pampanga/local-news/2017/12/09/duterte-predicts-metro-manilas-decay-25-years-579011
Follow us: @sunstaronline on Twitter | SunStar Philippines on Facebook