Traffic emergency powers bill up for PH Congress plenary approval

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id-100269536The Senate bill that will grant Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte emergency powers to tackle the longstanding problem of traffic gridlock in Metro Manila and other urban areas has passed the committee level and endorsed for plenary action.

Senator Grace Poe, chairperson of the Senate public services committee, sponsored Senate Bill No. 1284, or An Act Compelling the Government to Address the Transportation and Congestion Crisis through the Grant of Emergency Powers to the President.

She said the traffic problem is a “virus engulfing the nation” that needs to be addressed to “reverse economic, health and productivity losses.”

“Philippine transportation infrastructure at present has been unable to keep with the demands of a rising economy and growing population. The traffic and congestion crisis in Greater Metro Manila and Metro Cebu, as manifested in the debilitating long hours of daily commute, has assumed the nature and magnitude of a public calamity. It is a crisis of national significance requiring urgent, immediate, and focused actions from the government,” said Poe.

The senator is optimistic of getting multi-partisan support for the bill from the legislators. She earlier signified her support for the measure but warned that excesses would not be allowed under strict congressional scrutiny.

The measure authorizes Duterte, through his appointed Traffic Crisis Manager, to use alternative methods of procurement such as selective bidding, direct contracting, negotiated procurement, and other modes under existing laws to speed up implementation of key transportation projects.

Although the senator lamented the lack of ready plans by the executive department to address traffic woes despite various studies conducted on these in previous administrations, Poe said the bill compels it to get its act together and solve the crisis that causes the Philippines about P3 billion a day in economic losses.

Senate members are expected to debate and vote on the bill when sessions resume in January next year, Poe said. But while she anticipates that the bill “will not undergo smooth sailing” in the chamber, she urged her colleagues to support the measure that could eventually lead to improved traffic conditions.

The bill sets the parameters for exercising the emergency powers, but the projects to be rolled out under a Traffic Crisis Action and Decongestion Plan would be limited to those indicated in the short-term Three-Year Rolling Infrastructure Program submitted by various agencies and approved by National Economic and Development Authority, the long-term Roadmap for Transport Infrastructure Development for Greater Metro Manila dubbed the “Dream Plan,” and the Roadmap Study for Sustainable Development for Metro Cebu prepared by the Japan International Cooperation Agency.

Programs and actions

Projects under the Traffic Crisis Action and Decongestion Plan include rationalizing routes of public utility vehicles, creating a uniform traffic code to harmonize all laws on traffic management, managing the volume of users in gateway seaports and airports to aid decongestion, and identifying “friendship routes” and opening of private roads.

They also cover modifying, revising, amending, suspending or revoking franchises; clearing sidewalks; imposing a moratorium on mixed-use developments on main avenues; developing the Clark International Airport in Pampanga; and recommending whether to buy out MRT-3 or start negotiations and procurement of the maintenance contract that will be coterminous with the MRT concession period in 2025, among others.

Metro Manila and cities near the capital as well as Metro Cebu are covered by these emergency powers. The traffic crisis manager may also implement systems and mechanisms in Davao, Cagayan de Oro, and other highly urbanized cities and municipalities that are experiencing land traffic, based on an existing master transportation plan specific to those areas.

The emergency powers, if approved, will be valid until the next adjournment of Congress—or in June 2019—unless sooner withdrawn by Congress.

Except for the Supreme Court, lower courts are barred from issuing a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction against the government in implementing the projects under the expanded powers.

One of the key anti-corruption features of the emergency powers bill is the creation of a freedom of information portal containing information on the projects, including their status and funding, to keep the public aware of how the executive department is exercising such powers.

Joint monitoring

To ensure close monitoring of these projects, a joint congressional oversight panel will be created, composed of the Senate Public Services Committee and the House Transportation Committee, with two members each from the Senate and the House of Representatives. The traffic crisis manager is required to submit regular reports to the joint oversight panel on the efficiency and effectiveness of the projects.

Under the expanded powers bill, contracts will be awarded only to contractors with proven competence and experience, qualified personnel, sufficient and reliable equipment and facilities, and adequate capitalization.

The bill also promotes alternative forms of working such as telecommuting, carpooling, and ride-sharing schemes, flexible working hours and school days, and staggered schedules of attendance.

It consolidates the various measures filed by several senators, considers inputs from all concerned government agencies, the academe, and stakeholders, and accepts recommendations from transportation and urban planning experts.

Image courtesy of nipitphand at FreeDigitalPhotos.net