Congress tackles emergency powers, 10-year passports

The Senate is preparing to take up the proposed grant of emergency powers to the President to address the worsening traffic situation in Metro Manila and other major urban areas.

Sen. Grace Poe, chairperson of the Senate committee on public services, said a public hearing would be held as soon as possible to get the views of all stakeholders on the proposed grant of emergency powers.

The proposal to grant the President emergency powers is contained in Senate Bills 11 and 154, filed by Senate President Pro Tempore Franklin Drilon and Sen. Joseph Victor Ejercito.

“The best course of action is to set the bill for public hearing as soon as possible so we can engage the Department of Transportation and all other stakeholders and experts to determine its necessity and if so, the best terms under which such powers will have to be carried out to achieve its purpose,” Poe said.

“I share the exasperation of our countrymen who have suffered long enough. Thus, I fully support all efforts to alleviate the suffering of our people the quickest way possible,” she added.

The Senate is still in the process of organizing its committees since the 17th Congress started only last Monday.

Once the committees have been organized, the respective chairpersons may start calling for hearings on the bills and resolutions referred to them.

Poe said she is ready to collaborate with the executive branch “to fast track the process and assure that the law we will come up with is what we really need to effectively address the traffic mess that has paralyzed our economy and our people.”

“Our hearings will be fair, transparent and expeditious. We will uphold the best interest of the public first and foremost,” she added.

Under Drilon’s Senate Bill 11, the issuance of temporary restraining orders or injunctions on activities related to the easing of traffic would be prohibited except if these are issued by the Supreme Court.

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and the Department of Transportation (DOT) would be the only two agencies in charge of traffic management in Metro Manila and other urban areas of the country.

Drilon said that while he fully supports the passage of the bill, “it is also of the highest importance that the bill will provide safeguards that can adequately protect the system and the people from abuses.”

He said that the previous experiences of the country, particularly the grant of emergency powers to former president Fidel Ramos to address the power crisis, should be taken into consideration in the present situation.