Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon said rehabilitation of the Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA) is not technically canceled despite postponement.

Dizon made the clarification during his confirmation hearing before the Commission of Appointments (CA) after he was interpellated by Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel.

It doesn’t mean it was canceled… But the President really just said—he listened to our countrymen—for us to find a better way and a faster way.

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. wants to expedite the rebuilding of the major thoroughfare from two years to six months.

“When he (the President) said a better way, he essentially meant a way that would be faster para hindi masyadong mahirapan ang ating mga kababayang dumadaan sa EDSA [so that it will not cause too much trouble to our countrymen passing EDSA],” he added.

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is the lead agency in the EDSA rehabilitation, which was supposed to begin on June 13.

The postponement of the project needs to be studied for one month to know if there are new technologies that can be used to hasten the rehabilitation of the 23.8-kilometer road.

The estimated budget for the EDSA rehabilitation which aims to modernize the major thoroughfare and make it flood-free is P8.7 billion, until the end of 2026.

Dizon said that by 2027, the DPWH estimated that the budget would total to P15 billion.

“Advanced stages na ng procurement, meron na atang mga natapos na ang procurement pero alinsunod dito sa utos ng ating Pangulo na i-pause muna at maghanap ng mas maganda at mas mabilis na paraan, eh baka kailangan is mag-adjust ang DPWH dito. But again I have to defer to DPWH on this,” he said.

The EDSA rehabilitation was supposed to pave the way for the 24-hour odd-even scheme and the waiving of toll in parts of Skyway Stage 3, among other interventions.