SOUTHEAST METRO MANILA EXPRESSWAY C6 (SEMME/C6)

ABSTRACT

Infrastructure development is seen by many as an important aspect of the overall

development of our modern societies. Often, it is deemed or thought of as the requisite for

communities to prosper. Yet, the perspective of the effects of infrastructure has always been

narrowed down to what economic benefits will be gained from such. As a result, other aspects

that contribute to the quality of life of humankind, such as social, political, and environmental

aspects, are undermined. The Philippines' case is no different. With looming issues regarding

heavy traffic as causes of economic loss, the government has seen road constructions as their

solutions which they see not only as solution to the issues of congestion, but also as stimuli for

economic growth, and as mentioned, detriments to other aspects of living come with it. With its

strategic location and proximity to other growth areas around the capital, the Taytay-Taguig area

was seen by the government as the best place for the C6 Expressway promoted as their solution

to the traffic congestion in Metro Manila's main road networks, especially EDSA and C5. But,

beyond the strategic area lies other factors—the environmental consequences of it being near

Laguna Lake, and the nature of the project's drive for commercialization which has and will

continue to lead to forced evictions on hundreds, if not thousands of households in the area. This

study focused on the undermined effects of the C6 and was done on the Taytay-Taguig area

where the C6 Expressway now lies and continues to expand. In the process, several interviews

were conducted on key officials from government offices significant to the issue. Together with

such, document reviews, online research and cross reference were also done through some

reviews on certain literature and development theories and models, especially regarding quality

of life. Regarded as crucial information, the researcher also ensured enough data collection from
the affected communities regarding their living conditions before and after the C6 was

constructed, particularly on their settlement, livelihood, access to social services, and their

environment.

The study shows that the C6 infrastructure project augmented into various alarming

consequences which directly affect the people living in the areas of concern. Instead of bringing

development, the effects of the project turned the other way around and brought serious

detriments to the lives of the majority of the directly affected communities. Thus, roads and

infrastructures do not bridge the gap between the rich and the poor, but further alleviates it. These

scenarios are manifestations of the failure of the government to provide necessary and genuine

development policies to alleviate people from poverty.

INTRODUCTION

The terrible traffic congestion has become a "specialty" of the city of Manila. The fact

that the international community remembers Manila with tarnished images does not make Filipinos

proud. To enhance Manila's status, the government has taken concrete actions to address the

city's most significant problem - traffic congestion.

The government has gradually enacted short-term traffic improvement measures such

as phasing out old jeepneys, banning provincial buses, modifying code maps, blocking roads,

widening roads, etc. However, short-term measures can only solve the superficial problem.

Congestion continues to increase as time-consuming and reduces productivity. Therefore, Manila

citizens are looking forward to long-term awards such as "Build, Build, Build."

The infrastructure improvement program is a positive step in the modernization process,

economists and political analysts say. The government has allocated eight trillion pesos of the

national budget to the "Golden Age of Infrastructure" to improve infrastructure and modernize

public transport. As part of the "Build, Build, Build" program, the Southeast Metro Manila

Expressway (SEMME/C6) commonly known as Circumferential Road 6 or the C6 Expressway,

will be launched and soon put into use.

The 34 km long expressway connects FTI (Food Terminal Inc.) in Taguig with the Batasan

Complex in Quezon City and ends at the junction with North Luzon Expressway (NLEX).

Travelling on the C6 route will reduce the journey from Quezon City to Taguig from 1,5 hour to 35

minutes. The San Miguel Group (SMC) and its subsidiaries take responsibility for implementing

the project and are expected to be completed by 2020.

Project Description

The Southeast Metro Manila Expressway (SEMME/C6) Project is a toll road project with

approximately 32.664 km. in length. The expressway has a combination of elevated and at grade

and mostly six lanes with two directional traffic flow. It will connect from the existing skyway at FTI

in Taguig City, run along C5/Diego Silang towards existing C6 in Taguig City, continue along

Laguna Lake, then link to Ortigas Avenue extension, cross Sumulong Highway, towards Marcos

Highway to Tumana Bridge at San Mateo, Rizal and terminate to Batasan Complex at Quezon

City.

SEGMENT SECTION LENGTH (km.)

Section 1: Skyway/FTI - C5/Diego Silang

Section 1A: Skyway to FTI 2.387
Section 1B: FTI to C5/Diego Silang
Segment 1
Section 2: C5/Diego Silang - C6/Taguig 3.202

Section 3: C6/Taguig - Ortigas Ave. Ext. 11.783

Section 4: Ortigas Ave. Ext. - Marcos Highway 5.337

Section 5: Marcos Highway - Tumana Bridge 6.900

Segment 2
Section 6: Tumana Bridge - Batasan Complex 3.055

TOTAL 32.664

Project Objectives:

The project aims to:

• Connect the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) Skyway via FTI towards Batasan

Complex in Quezon City

Project Benefits:

At the end of construction, the project is expected to:

• Provide an alternate route from Parañaque to Quezon City passing thru the

developing areas of Taguig, Taytay, Antipolo, and San Mateo to decongest EDSA,

C5 and other

major arteries of Metro Manila and Rizal.

Project Concessionaire:

• Citra Intercity Tollways Inc. (CITI)

Project Cost:

• Php 31.32 Billion (based on Basic Design)

• Php 45.29 Billion (based on Approved FED) Project Status:

• Right-of-Way Acquisition for Section 1B, ongoing.

Structures: 134 Contracts of Agreement to Demolish and Remove Improvement (ADRI) already

signed by claimants and corresponding payments through Advances and Reimbursement

Agreement (ARA) have already been requested from the Concessionaire

Lots: 77 Dead of Absolute Sales (DOAS); 41 already prepared, 18 of which have been signed by

claimants and corresponding payments through ARA have already been requested from the

Concessionaire.
 • Civil Works, ongoing

Section 1: Construction on workable areas at C5 (Piers 61 to 66),

100 % accomplishment

Remaining test pitting on bored pile locations at Pier 00 in Arca South, and Piers 71 and 72

along C5 Road Taguig, which are based on submitted work requests, completed. Project

Alignment

Project Timeline
Construction Schedule:

Section 1: 2019 - 2021 (33 months)

Benefits of the Southeast Metro Manila Expressway:

• Only 35 minutes of travel time between Bicutan and Batasan Complex

• Reduced traffic congestion along EDSA, C-5, Ortigas Ave., and Ortigas Extension •

Quick and direct access to major airport terminals

RATIONALE

Why should the government enter into such an economic venture in partnership with a

private entity?

Governments typically aim to encourage entrepreneurship since flourishing enterprises

create value for the public. Companies are able to create jobs, pay corporate taxes, and enable

employees to pay their taxes thanks to this value.

The economic venture of SEMME is a 34.024-kilometer, six-lane, combined elevated

and at-grade expressway with two directional traffic flow. It will start in the south with a connection

to the existing Skyway Stage 1 in FTI, Taguig City, and would terminate in Batasan Complex in

Quezon City. It will eventually connect to the North Luzon Expressway via Balagtas. Aside

from decongesting roads in Manila and Quezon City, particularly major road networks such as

EDSA, C-5, Ortigas Avenue, and its extension, SEMME shall likewise provide commuters and

motorists fast and direct access by South and Southeast, as well as Metro Manila inter-city

travelers, to major international and domestic airports. Once completed, travel time from

Bicutan, Taguig to Batasan, Quezon City will be reduced to only 35 minutes.

Aside from speeding up mobility from city to city, the construction of the Southeast Metro

Manila Expressway will loosen up clogged arterial roads in the capital particularly in EDSA, C5,
Ortigas Avenue, Ortigas Avenue Extension, BGC and The Fort area, and developing cities like

Taytay, San Mateo, Antipolo, and Rizal.

Commuters and motorists coming from Quezon City and towns of Rizal, Antipolo, and

San Mateo, and people from the southern cities of Paranaque, Las Pinas, and Muntinlupa who

hold jobs and businesses in Ortigas Business District will greatly benefit in the construction of C6,

primarily because the expressway will aid them to escape the morning rush and rush hour

prevalent in C5 and EDSA. C6 will provide those working in Ortigas Business District with an

alternative route that is much easier to navigate and can absolve them from the agony of heavy

traffic.

Experts agree that a better traffic flow is more or less inevitable with the birth of C6. The

Department of Transportation notes that the project will provide an indispensable alternate route

that will diversify the road networks in Metro Manila. The construction of the 34-kilometer

expressway spearheaded by San Miguel Corporation (SMC) and its subsidiaries will commence

this coming April with an expected public opening in 2020.

What were the effects of those government interventions on the economic outcomes of the

project?
 In early January ground broke on the P31.3-billion ($616.5 million) Southeast Metro

Manila Expressway project, also known as the C6 Expressway, which will run along the outskirts

of the capital, linking Taguig City with Quezon City.

Targeted for completion in 2020, the 34-km, six-lane toll road is expected to cut travel

time along the route to around 30 minutes. The project should also help improve logistics

efficiency and ease congestion on nearby arteries.

The C6 project forms part of a broader P8.4-trillion investment program that aims to lift

infrastructure development spending from 5.4% of GDP in 2017 to 7.4% in 2022, according to

Benjamin M. Diokno, the Budget secretary. Analysis by investment banking services firm First

Metro Investment expects outlays to reach 6.1% of GDP this year.

The 13-station development, which has an estimated price tag of P355.6 billion, aims

to significantly cut travel time around the city, and is expected to carry some 370,000 passengers

annually upon its partial opening in 2025. Construction is being part financed by the Japan

International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the Philippines’ main international aid agency partner,

which is set to provide ¥1 trillion ($9.2 billion) for development over the next five years.

In addition to the metro, other key projects in the pipeline include: the Luzon Spine

Expressway Network, a series of new roads stretching 1,000 km. from north to south Luzon; the

Metro Manila Logistics Network, a set of new bridges and roads designed to alleviate congestion

in the capital; and the 74-km Metro Cebu Expressway, which is expected to halve the travel time

between Naga City and Danao City.

Infrastructure gaps have long been identified as a barrier to growth. Although the

Philippines ranked 56th out of 137 economies on the World Economic Forum’s Global

Competitiveness Index 2017-2018, it ranked 97th for infrastructure, with shortfalls identified as the

second-most problematic factor for doing business, behind inefficient government bureaucracy.
 The accelerated infrastructure investment program will be one of the key forces driving

GDP growth in 2018, according to Gil S. Beltran, undersecretary, and chief economist at the

Department of Finance (DoF). Together with tax changes and rice sector reform, the Build, Build,

Build policy “will push the country’s growth to 7-8% this year and sustain manageable inflation,”

he said.

Conclusion

Most road projects today involve modifications to existing roadways, and the planning,

operation, and maintenance of such projects often are opportunities for improving ecological

conditions. A growing body of information describes such practices for improving aquatic and

terrestrial habitats.

Planning boundaries for roads and assessing associated environmental effects are often

based on socioeconomic considerations, resulting in a mismatch between planning scales and

spatial scales at which ecological systems operate. In part, this mismatch results because there

are few legal incentives or disincentives to consider environmental effects beyond political

jurisdictions, and thus decision making remains primarily local. The ecological effects of roads are

typically much larger than the road itself, and they often extend beyond regional planning

domains.

Scientific literature on ecological effects of roads addresses local-to-intermediate scales,

and many of those effects are well documented. However, there are few integrative or large-scale

studies. Sometimes the appropriate spatial scale for ecological research is not known in advance,

and in that case, some ecological effects of roads may go undetected if an inappropriate scale is

chosen. Few studies have addressed the complex nature of the ecological effects of roads, and
the studies that have done so were often based on small sampling periods and insufficient

sampling of the range of variability in ecological systems.

The assessment of the cumulative impacts of road construction and use is seldom

adequate. Although many laws, regulations, and policies require some consideration of ecological

effects of transportation activities, such as road construction, the legal structure leaves substantial

gaps in the requirements. Impacts on certain resources are typically authorized through permits.

Permitting programs usually consider only direct impacts of road construction and use on a

protected resource, even though indirect or cumulative effects can be substantial (for example,

effects on food web components). The incremental effects of many impacts over time could be

significant to such resources as wetlands or wildlife.

Recommendation

The many opportunities that arise for mitigating or reducing adverse environmental

impacts in modifications and repairs to existing roads should not be overlooked. Environmental

considerations should be included when plans are made to repair or modify existing roads, as

well as when plans are made to build new roads.

 Research on the ecological effects of roads should be multiscale and designed with

reference to ecological conditions and appropriate levels of organization (such as genetics,

species and populations, communities, and ecological systems).

Additional research is needed on the long-term and large-scale ecological effects of roads (such

as watersheds, ecoregions, and species’ ranges). Research should focus on increasing the

understanding of cross-scale interactions.

More opportunities should be created to integrate research on road ecology into longterm

ecological studies by using long-term ecological research sites and considering the need for new

ones.

Ecological assessments for transportation projects should be conducted at different time

scales to address impacts on key ecological system processes and structures. A broader set of

robust ecological indicators should be developed to evaluate long-term and broad-scale changes

in ecological conditions.

References

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the southeast Metro Manila Expressway (C6) to the affected communities around Taytay-Taguig

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