CONGRESS held off on approving measures granting President Rodrigo Duterte emergency powers to solve the traffic gridlock in Metro Manila after lawmakers expressed dissatisfaction at the details offered by the Department of Transportation.
“They only gave a picture of the possible effect if the emergency powers proposal is not granted. But they still did not identify where they intend to put the train stations especially in Mindanao and in areas across Central Luzon,” said Senator Grace Poe, chairperson of the Senate committee on public services.
“Since these details are not yet clear so the technical working group would follow so the questions would be more particular,” he also said.
“What we are asking is for transparency, especially in the crafting of contracts and identifying details so we can also monitor these projects,” Poe added.
When pressed anew if she was satisfied with the details given by the DOTr, Poe said she remained dissatisfied as she found the submission “lacking in details.”
“We really need to know the scope of this emergency power. For example, this need to be clarified if, under a single traffic authority, to what extent the cooperation will be with the local government,” she said.
The House’s transportation committee, meantime, approved the creation of a technical working group or subcommittee that will draw up the substitute bill to the 10 bills seeking to grant President Rodrigo Duterte emergency powers to solve the traffic gridlock in Metro Manila.
The committee, led by Catanduanes Rep. Cesar Sarmiento, approved the motion raised by Rep. Maximo Rodriguez Jr. of Cagayan de Oro City seeking to create the technical working group during the panel’s second hearing on the traffic problem.
“It has been moved and seconded that we create a TWG that will harmonize and consolidate all the proposals and come up with a substitute bill for consideration by the mother committee and then for consideration in the plenary debate,” Sarmiento said.
Lawmakers have grilled Highway Patrol Group officials who have demanded “special authority” from Congress to solve Metro Manila’s traffic woes.
Reps. Maximo Rodriguez of Cagayan de Oro City, Romeo Acop of Antipolo, and Micaela Violago of Nueva Ecija have asked HPG head Chief Supt. Antonio Gardiola why there is a need for them to ask for such special authority when part of their mandate is to ensure the smooth flow of traffic.
Sarmiento said he would likely head the TWG for continuity and speed in drawing up the emergency powers substitute bill.
Sarmiento said that since committee hearings in the House had been suspended from Sept. 26 to Oct. 7, 2016, to give way to the plenary deliberations on the 2017 General Appropriations Bill, the TWG would be able to start holding meetings after that period.
“After October 7, that will be the time the TWG can meet and invite resource persons. Before the congressional break on October 22, we will meet and then present to the mother committee what we’ve agreed upon,” Sarmiento said.
He expressed hope the technical working group would be created by the substitute bill by November, and that it would be presented to the committee on transportation. He said the bill would subsequently be referred to the committee on appropriations because of the funding component.
The proposal to grant Duterte emergency powers has been included in the legislative agenda of Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez for the 17th Congress.