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President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. says creating the Philippine Transportation Safety Board will only duplicate the functions of other relevant government agencies
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Marcos said his administration aims to enhance the government’s institutional capacity through optimal and efficient use of resources, thus his veto of the bill
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The bill’s principal sponsor, Senator Grace Poe, said a close review of the bill’s provisions would show no duplication of functions and mandates of other agencies
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has vetoed a bill creating the Philippine Transportation Safety Board (PTSB), saying the proposed body will only duplicate the functions of other relevant government agencies.
In a statement issued on July 30, Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles said Marcos has informed Congress about his decision to veto the PTSB bill, along with another bill proposing tax exemption for the election honoraria of poll workers, in separate letters.
The President said in his veto message that “the functions intended for the aforementioned Safety Board are already being undertaken by different agencies under the Department of Transportation such as the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, Land Transportation Office, Philippine Coast Guard, Aircraft Accident Investigation and Inquiry Board, and Maritime Industry Authority as well as the Philippine National Police and the National Bureau of Investigation.”
Marcos said creating a new body will only “create functional duplication, confusion as to authority, ineffectiveness, and deficiency in the performance of the responsibilities.”
“Considering that one of the primary policies and declared priorities of the administration is to enhance the government’s institutional capacity through optimal and efficient use of resources and strategic rationalization of the functions of government agencies, I am constrained to veto the bill,” he said.
Marcos asked Congress to instead push for measures “that will look into functions, operations, organization, systems, and processes of the aforecited government agencies with the end view of strengthening the same and providing a holistic and well-coordinated approach in the promotion of transportation safety.”
Under House Bill No. 9030 or Senate Bill No. 1077, or “An Act Establishing the Philippine Transportation Safety Board, Defining its Powers and Functions, and Appropriating Funds Therefore,” the PTSB is a seven-member board that would investigate air, highway, railroad, pipeline and maritime accidents, would be a move to improve transport safety in the country.
The measure, sponsored by Senator Grace Poe, was ratified by Congress in a plenary session on June 1 after the House of Representatives and Senate reconciled their versions of the bill.
Reacting to the presidential veto, Poe in a statement on July 30 expressed her dismay, saying in a statement a close review of the provisions of the bill would reveal that all functions and mandates do not at all duplicate those of other agencies.
“The veto is unfortunate given that from 2016 to 2020 alone, a total of 483 accidents have been recorded in the maritime sector, while the road sector reported an average of 12,487 deaths yearly due to road crashes.”
The senator said the increasing number of road accidents should no longer be ignored.
Cruz-Angeles said the other vetoed bill was one exempting from income taxation the honoraria, allowances, and other financial benefits of poll workers. She said the President vetoed the bill because it contradicts the objective of the government’s tax reform plan.
“The measure runs counter to the objective of the government’s Comprehensive Tax Reform Program to correct the inequity in the country’s tax system and negate the progressivity of the reforms introduced under RA (Republic Act) 10963 or the TRAIN (Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion) law. Moreover, the studies of pertinent government agencies on the revenue loss is too substantial an impact to be forgone,” Marcos said in his veto message.
Marcos explained that the measure would be “inequitable to other persons performing similar activities and/or services… Moreover, providing additional support to any sector is best addressed through targeted budgetary spending rather than through the tax system,” he said.
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