MANILA, Philippines: The government must map out an efficient public transport system to solve the gargantuan problem that is the Metro Manila traffic, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Tuesday.

In his interview with GMA Integrated News' '24 Oras,' Marcos admitted to oftentimes being caught in the gridlock which is why he has to utilize the presidential chopper instead of his motorcycle-riding escorts so as not to further inconvenience the motorists and commuters.

"Another thing I try to avoid is to cause traffic... Because when I go (on the road), it's embarrassing because everybody has to stop. So, I try as little as possible to cause traffic," he said.

It is during his time onboard the presidential chopper that he gets a bird's eye view of the state of Metro Manila's roads and how the government has to decisively and quickly address the worsening traffic.

One of the solutions, the chief executive said to help ease traffic jams from the major thoroughfares to the secondary streets, is putting up more ferry stations along the Pasig River.

Just recently, Marcos led the inauguration of the Pasig River Urban Development Project, also known as the 'Pasig Bigyang Buhay Muli' (PBBM) initiative whose main thrust is the rehabilitation and revival of the famed waterway.

This, however, would displace the thousands of residents by the riverbank, majority of whom are informal settlers.

The President assured that the government has plans in place regarding their relocation.

"There is a plan already, we have identified what we call transition areas where we will build temporary lodging for the settlers so that they have a place to stay while we are building their permanent housing," he said.

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