President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has just delivered his fourth State of the Nation address, and as always, we’ve paid close attention to the items related to the transport, motoring, and mobility sectors.
Before we get to summarizing the six points he raised, we think it’s also worth noting some important issues he didn’t touch on. Off the top of our heads, these are: the EDSA rehabilitation project, the high-profile road accidents in the first half of the year (especially those involving public transport or driving under the influence), and any plans to boost local automotive production. If you think there are other transport-related items the President should have addressed, let us know in the comments.
For now, here’s our SONA 2025 summary.
1) Continued pilot testing of the Love Bus in Visayas and Mindanao
We first heard about this possible comeback in 2022, when Hino Motors Philippines started wrapping its buses with the nostalgic Love Bus livery. Pilot testing in Davao and Cebu has since started, and the President mentioned the continued testing in Visayas and Mindanao. While he didn’t say anything about the possibility of having the Love Bus back in Metro Manila, we see no other reason for the government to continue looking into this mode of transportation other than that.
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2) Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge (BCIB) to start construction this year
Back in 2020, talks about the BCIB resurfaced amid the government’s continued push for more infrastructure projects. In 2023, the Department of Public Works and Highways then announced that construction of the 32.15km, four-lane bridge would begin that same year.
No significant progress has been made since, but now the President has once again confirmed that construction will start by the end of 2025. Considering what happened the last time, we’re taking this latest announcement with a grain of salt.
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3) SLEX TR4 partial opening in 2026
We’ve been talking about the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) Toll Road 4 (TR4) for years now, and at this point, construction is already well underway. Admittedly, however, the promises of its partial opening back in 2022 sounded a bit…farfetched. But now, the President has provided an updated (and seemingly more realistic) timeline: The segment stretching to Tiaong, Quezon will open in 2026. This will supposedly cut travel time from Metro Manila to the southern town from the current four hours to just one.
4) Mindanao Transport Connectivity Improvement Project
The project aims to construct a 428km highway that connects the cities of Cagayan de Oro, Davao, and General Santos. There will also be three link roads that diverge off the main highway and into smaller municipalities further away from the three major cities.
The link road around Cagayan de Oro will be constructed as a 25.43km loop that will eventually lead back to the main corridor. On the other end of the highway, the link road in General Santos will be about 45km long, and will lead towards the province’s coastline. In the middle, Davao City’s road link will be the longest at 59.4km, stretching throughout almost the entire width of the city.
5) No Guadalupe Bridge closure (this year?)
The repairs on the EDSA-Guadalupe Bridge, which were originally slated for October 2025, have now been put on hold as the President has instructed the DPWH to first build a temporary detour bridge to ensure that the flow of traffic is not worsened.
Rehabilitation work on the bridge was expected to take 17 months and affect around 141,000 vehicles a day. The DPWH has yet to announce when construction of the detour bridge will start, and what possible traffic schemes can be implemented to smooth the flow of traffic during construction and the eventual rehabilitation.
With this, the DPWH has also been ordered to carry out a comprehensive reassessment of the condition and stability of major bridges throughout the country. You might recall the collapse of the Cabagan-Sta. Maria Bridge in Isabela, earlier this year. The reassessment aims to spot faulty bridges before they fall and make the proper improvements beforehand.
6) Reiteration of release of plates and documents for new cars within 3 days, 72 hours
PBBM has said once again that the Land Transportation Office should be releasing official receipts, certificates of registration, and vehicle license plates within three days, or 72 hours, after purchase and submission of all required documents. The DOTr first announced this directive on July 21, which means it is already in effect.
