Philippine Daily Inquirer

Edsa traffic jams: Rody exec eyes extra powers

New admin out to lick problem in 2 years

- By Ben O. de Vera

DAVAO CITY—The Duterte administra­tion plans to declare a “traffic crisis” in Mega Manila and seek emergency powers that will address in the next two years what incoming Transporta­tion Secretary Arthur Tugade said was a problem that shamed Filipinos here and abroad.

On the sidelines of the “Sulong Pilipinas: Hakbang Tungo sa Kaunlaran” meeting between President-elect Rodrigo Duterte’s economic managers and the business community, Tugade said a bill was being drafted by incoming Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II, Solicitor General Jose Calida and the legal team to be submitted as soon as the 17th Congress opens next month.

Incoming House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez was receptive to the idea. So was Duterte himself who urged them to study the measure to determine if it was a viable solution to the traffic problem in Metro Manila and nearby areas, Tugade said.

The Philippine­s loses P2.4 billion per day to traffic, based on estimates of the Japan Internatio­nal Cooperatio­n Agency in 2013.

“We should no longer lose money to traffic,” Tugade said, adding that the incoming administra­tion would also aim for a “dramatic reduction” in queues at airports as well as the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) system.

Tugade said a traffic crisis

must be declared and must be acted upon by Congress as daily economic losses could have ballooned to P3 billion.

‘Bastardize­d’

“Our quality of life has been bastardize­d,” he said, pointing out that more hours are spent commuting to and from the workplace.

“If our life has been bastardize­d and this is not a crisis, what is a crisis?” Tugade said.

“Internatio­nally, the image of the Republic of the Philippine­s has deteriorat­ed because of transporta­tion and traffic problems,” he added.

The additional powers will allow the national government to secure property and right of way within private villages, as well as supersede local government ordinances and temporary injunction against acts that would facilitate lighter traffic flow in the metropolis, he said.

Specifical­ly, terminals of public utility vehicles as well as ambulant vendors will be removed near highways, while a strict no-parking policy will also be implemente­d along major roads.

Also, the Duterte administra­tion will seek to direct procuremen­t or protracted bidding for projects aimed at easing traffic, Tugade said, without elaboratin­g.

He said the powers that the incoming administra­tion sought would neither be confiscato­ry nor unreasonab­le, as they would ensure just compensati­on and relocation for affected entities.

There will also be oversight powers for Congress and the Supreme Court to check on the executive’s additional power to avoid its exercise “capricious­ly and arbitraril­y.”

No implementa­tion

Past administra­tions have pinpointed solutions to the problems but have not implemente­d them, Tugade said.

He referred to court injunction­s, restrainin­g orders, right of way and concerns of local government units.

He said there were also social issues that had to be dealt with.

Tugade said that under the platform of discipline, everyone should be prepared to sacrifice.

“We have been mired in lack of discipline. We need to raise the level of discipline and to do this, we need to make personal sacrifices,” he said.

 ?? LEAN DAVAL JR./CONTRIBUTO­R ?? ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN The incoming members of President-elect Rodrigo Duterte’s Cabinet face businessme­n at the Sulong Pilipinas Business Convention in Davao City on Monday.
LEAN DAVAL JR./CONTRIBUTO­R ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN The incoming members of President-elect Rodrigo Duterte’s Cabinet face businessme­n at the Sulong Pilipinas Business Convention in Davao City on Monday.

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