Senator calls for abolition of Road Board

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian yesterday urged Congress to expedite passage of the bill that would abolish the Road Board and reassign its mandate to the Departments of Transportation (DOTr) and the Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

Gatchalian has accused the Road Board of being prone to graft and corruption and revealed the extent of its abuses during a hearing of the Senate committee on public works recently.

The Senator explained that during his term as Valenzuela City Mayor and Congressman, several contractors approached him and offered to “facilitate” with the Road Board the funding for repair and maintenance works on the city’s streets.

“The contractors approached me and said, ‘There is money in the Road Board. You only have to give me a signed letter and I will build you a R50-million road.’ Of course, I knew what they meant,” Gatchalian said.

Had he availed of the funding, Gatchalian said “the next step would have been a meeting on how to split the fund.”

“I rejected the offers. I did not avail of the special road funds. I was stunned by their audacity but I was not interested in their offers,” he told representatives of the Road Board who attended the committee hearing.

A creation of Republic Act 8794, the Road Board is tasked with the management and utilization of the Motor Vehicle User’s Charge (MVUC) that is imposed on vehicle owners.