The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority defended Monday its construction of a footbridge across EDSA in Kamuning, Quezon City, after some social media users said it was too high.

A photo of the bridge that goes over the MRT railway recently went viral, with some netizens commenting that it could be inaccessible to the elderly, pregnant women, and persons with disabilities.

Authorities saw the need for a footbridge there after several instances of pedestrians being run over by vehicles as they crossed EDSA or falling prey to thieves in the dimly lit area, said MMDA General Manager Jojo Garcia.

The MMDA cannot slash the bridge's height because it needs to be 3 to 4 meters above the power lines of the MRT-3 for safety reasons, he told radio DZMM.

"Inilagay muna natin ito temporary para at least maiwasan lang po natin iyung patintero sa kalsada," he said.

(We built that temporary footbridge just so pedestrians can prevent playing tag with vehicles.)

The MMDA is inquiring if funds could be allocated for equipping the bridge with an escalator, he added.

Garcia also mentioned that some of its partnerships with private firms for the construction of footbridges were suspended after abuses in the use of these spaces for advertisements.

DZMM, 5 October 2018