By Dean Aubrey Caratiquet
Doubling down on his earlier mandate to open more roads to cushion the impact of volatile oil prices on motorists’ wallets, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. formally graced the opening of the Cavitex-C5 Link Expressway Segment 3B in Parañaque City on Monday.
Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Vince Dizon said in a statement, “Ang objective, ang utos ni Pangulo sa amin ni Sec. Banoy [ng DOTr], magbukas ng as many new roads as possible between now and Holy Week.
Lalung-lalo na ngayon na mataas ang presyo ng gasolina, hirap ‘yung mga kababayan natin, kailangan magbukas tayo nang magbukas ng mga bagong kalye para ma-cut ‘yung travel time—menos biyahe, menos konsumo, menos gastos.”
The newly opened segment is composed of a 2 kilometer dual carriageway with 3 lanes on both sides that links the Manila-Cavite Expressway (Cavitex) and C5 Road, which is expected to reduce travel time between the cities of Taguig and Parañaque from 1-2 hours down to approximately 10-15 minutes.
Up to 36,000 motorists are touted to benefit from this toll road on a daily basis, which opens in time to cater to the volume of traffic expected to accumulate during the Holy Week.
President Marcos Jr. also cited the Unified Package for Livelihoods, Industry, Food, and Transport (UPLIFT) whole-of-government framework enshrined in Executive Order No. 110, s. 2026 as the catalyst in making more thoroughfares available to Filipinos in a bid to improve mobility and reduce fuel wastage due to traffic congestion.
He said in a media interview, “Ito ay kasama sa ating utos na nanggaling sa UPLIFT na ating ginagawa na buksan lahat ng mga daan upang maging mas maginhawa ang pagbiyahe ng ating traveling public.”
The Chief Executive concluded his remarks by announcing toll-free passage for Segment 3B from March 30 until April 30, to help motorists cut back on fuel expenses especially as they go home to their provinces during Holy Week.
Segment 3B completes the 7.7-kilometer Manila–Cavite Toll Expressway C5 Link. The opening builds on the earlier completion of Segment 2 and Segments 3A-1 and 3A-2 between 2019 and 2024, progressively enhancing the capacity and efficiency of the expressway network serving southern Metro Manila and Cavite. (with report from Sheila Natividad | PTV News)
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