President Rodrigo Duterte will not fire Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade even as the Palace challenged Senator Grace Poe to name a more qualified traffic czar amid reports that patients die en route to hospitals because ambulances are stuck in traffic gridlock.
Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said the President still trusts Tugade despite the unsolved traffic problem in the country’s capital.
In a television interview, Poe suggested that President Duterte should consider designating an “expert” to solve Metro Manila’s traffic problem.
She added that ‘I think somebody else should take his (Tugade’s) place’, a remark that provoked an angry retort from Tugade who said he would not be moved by the “whims and caprices of misguided politicians.”
Poe, continuing her tirade, also compared Tugade to former Department of Transportation and Communications Secretary Emilio Jun Abaya, who, the senator said, was the reason behind former President Benigno Aquino III’s “downfall.”
“Former President [Aquino] clung too much to Secretary Abaya, when in fact, I think, Secretary Abaya is one the reasons that caused his downfall and failure in delivering a lot of what needed to be delivered in the DOTC at that time. Are we having a repeat?” Poe asked.
Poe, who chairs the Senate public services committee, said President Rodrigo Duterte should see how effective Tugade is in the job even if he has his trust.
“If you don’t change leadership fast enough for a particular department, then you lose precious time,” she added.
“He did not perform and I’m sorry to say. I’m not here to make people look bad. I’m here to present the truth and find the solution,” Poe said, referring to Tugade.
Poe said the DOTr failed to present a plan to solve the traffic mess even after the Senate hearing on the matter. “That’s all I’ve been asking for, a traffic plan and a transportation plan which they did not submit,” she said.
The DOTr defended Tugade from Poe’s criticism, saying traffic management is not part of the department’s mandate.
Panelo, meanwhile, said Poe is free to suggest someone to handle the problem.
“Maybe Senator Grace has a person in mind, why don’t she come out with it?” Panelo told reporters.
Duterte said Tuesday night he will no longer seek emergency powers and acknowledged his incapacity to solve the daily nightmarish traffic before his term ends in 2022.
But Panelo said in a press conference that the President changes his position “when circumstances change.”
Last month, the Chief Executive said he would just let EDSA “rot” as he seemed fed up with Poe for apparently hindering government efforts to get funding to fix the traffic problem.
Poe, who chairs the Senate committee on public services, has repeatedly rejected calls for emergency powers for the President to solve the heavy traffic.
Meanwhile, the DOTr in a statement posted on its Facebook page took exception to Poe’s remarks.
In a statement posted on its Facebook page addressed to Poe, the DOTr clarified that Secretary Tugade was designated as the country’s traffic czar in a proposed bill in 2016 which did not push through.
“Sana po malinaw. Hindi ‘ho sa naghuhugas ng kamay. Nagsasabi lamang ‘ho ng totoo (We hope it’s clear. We are not washing our hands off the issue. We’re just telling the truth),” the statement read.
Poe, in a television interview, said Tugade must be replaced because he is underperforming and is unable to solve traffic congestion problems.
Sought for comment, Tugade said Poe should not be concerned with his position as DOTr chief as he serves at the pleasure of Duterte and that he is “not subject to the whims, caprice, and theatrics of misguided politicians.”
“Sus, masyadong bilib sa sarili. Pati ba naman posisyon ko pinakikialaman niya (She thinks too much of herself. She even concerns herself with my position),” Tugade added.
The department said Tugade was not one to rest on his laurels following the DOTr’s completion of 64 airports, 220 commercial and social/tourism port projects, and one land port under his
leadership—not including another 133 airport projects, 121 port projects, and six ongoing railway projects.
On Tuesday, Tugade and other DOTr officials attended the hearing of the Senate committee on public services on the proposed provincial bus ban on EDSA.
The granting of emergency powers to fast-track relevant projects was
also brought up but was disputed by Poe, saying lack of emergency powers should not be blamed for their failure to accomplish their tasks.
In a related development, the Metro Manila Development Authority said a fine of at least P1,000 will be imposed on motorists who fail to give way to emergency medical ambulances during traffic.
MMDA assistant secretary and spokesperson Pircelyn Pialago said based on MMDA Resolution No. 08-01, the second lane from the curb of the major thoroughfares of Metro Manila was designated as an emergency lane.
“The MMDA does not dispute such findings that more people are dying in ambulances because traffic delays them from reaching hospitals. However, the MMDA has, ever since its inception, been trying to ease the flow of traffic in the metropolis so that ambulances can reach hospitals on time,” said Pialago.
She added “the problem of traffic is very complex, however, and the patients in ambulances are caught in the crossfire of factors. We assure the public that we are trying our best to solve this situation and that ambulances delivering patients on time is among our concerns.”
On Wednesday, MMDA chairman Danilo Lim issued a memorandum order directing agency traffic enforcers to assist and escort all emergency medical ambulances during heavy traffic.
“When the need arises, motorcycle riding traffic enforcers of the agency can be tapped to escort emergency vehicles all over Metro Manila so that emergency patients needing urgent care can reach hospitals the soonest possible time,” said Lim.
Ground traffic enforcers can also assist ambulances through traffic on roads congested with vehicles or when motorists refuse to give way.
“Don’t hesitate to seek help to our enforcers on the ground,” Lim said. “Just tap them, open your window, inform our constable on the ground whether its a traffic constable or our MMDA rider.”
A patient recently died after an emergency ambulance failed to reach the hospital due to traffic.
The MMDA is considering implementing a number of suggestions from various sectors to solve the worsening traffic.
Among these proposals were the Organized Bus Route system, the Car Brand Coding and the One Way Edsa Traffic.
Traffic in Metro Manila has caused billions of pesos in revenue losses, according to a study conducted by the Japan International Cooperating Agency.