No dialog between stakeholders have been made for the Smart Urban Mobility Project (SUMP), since the start if the 120-day prescriptive period, Oct. 8.
Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC) holds Original Proponent Status (OPS) for the P2.5-billion contract, which aims to reduce traffic through contested congestion charges and other transport solutions.
Councilor Fred Bagbagen has been put on lead for talks on the SUMP, a deliberation, originally scheduled for November 12 but now has been postponed with no date set.
The 120-day review period, which began on October 8, 2025, is mandated under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Code of the Philippines (RA 11966). The Code contains a critical clause that states: if the council fails to issue a decision within this time, the proposal will be ‘deemed approved.
The review period ends on January 15, 2026, in which the council will have to decide to accept the project, accept it with revisions or reject it all together.
The proposal will be deemed approved if there is no decision made within the time period.
Ted Tan, vocally opposing the project said “Time is running out. Are we just going to stay on the sidelines and let our elected City Officials decide on this issue for us? Or we will call the attention of our City Council to hear our voice, “REJECT THIS SUMP”.
MPTC has reputedly teamed up with Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd., a Singapore-based company known for its world-class solutions that help to create smarter and sustainable transportation systems
SUMP is a land mobility ecosystem that provides intelligent transportation management systems, peak-hour congestion pricing solutions, area-based monitoring and enforcement capabilities, smart parking systems, efficient public transportation and fleet management solutions and roadside assistance support.
These integrated services, supported by relevant policies from the LGUs, will help create more efficient transportation systems, reduce congestion and promote road safety among their constituents.
The SUMP proposal by MPTC has drawn significant resistance to its central funding mechanism: the proposed “congestion charging.” This system intends to require private cars to pay fees as high as P250 for entering the city’s Central Business District (CBD), including Session Road, during peak hours.
Tan “How can we trust MPT Mobility if they are not true to their word? During last year’s public consultations on their Smart Urban Mobility proposal, they committed to provide copies of their traffic surveys, the basis of their “Congestion Charge “proposal at CBD. Yet until now, nothing has been given.” By Maria Elena Catajan