THE Pasig River Expressway (Parex) project of San Miguel Corp. (SMC) is a proposed six-lane elevated expressway that will traverse the length of the Pasig River, about 19.37 kilometers of new concrete structures that will sit above the Pasig River. This month, the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) approved and signed a Supplemental Toll Operations Agreement for Parex with SMC despite concerns raised by stakeholders regarding the project's significant negative economic, environmental, health, mobility and cultural impact.
When SMC and TRB officials speak about Parex, it is usually about how the expressway will reduce travel times and ease congestion. This has proven to be a false promise across cities all over the world — urban expressways lead to greater car use and ultimately to more congestion, pollution and climate change. And any temporary benefit to the small minority in motor vehicles pales in comparison to the host of negative impacts.
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