THE House drew closer to approving emergency powers for President Rodrigo Duterte to deal with the traffic crisis, with the formation of a technical working group to consolidate 10 bills into a substitute measure that the committee on transportation can consider by November.
The committee, however, set aside a draft bill from the Transportation Department that proposes to assign Transport Secretary Arthur Tugade as the “traffic crisis manager” for three years until possible conflicts of interest within his department are settled.
Catanduanes Rep. Cesar Sarmiento, panel chairman, said Tugade and his men had also failed to provide details and define the parameters in their draft bill about which parts of the country should be covered by the extra powers.
“We want to know which part of the country is in traffic crisis. Where is the crisis? In Metro Manila or the whole of the Philippines? We need specifics,” Sarmiento said.
Earlier, House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, author of one of the bills seeking emergency powers for Duterte, expressed fears that Tugade and other department officials would use these powers to benefit their former principals in the private sector.
House Minority Leader Danilo Suarez expressed the same fears, noting that Tugade and Undersecretary Noel Kintanar were both former executives of the contractors involved in the Metro Rail Transit-Light Railway Transit Common Station project.
“I have to be very straightforward with my concern. This concerns the Ayalas. Two of the executives—Secretary Tugade and Undersecretary Kintanar are from Ayala firms or have done business with the Ayalas. They might favor the Ayalas’ business interests. That’s not right,” Suarez said.
Other department officials with possible conflicts of interest are Undersecretary for Air Operations Bobby Lim, who was formerly country manager of the International Air Transport Association; and Undersecretary Felipe Judan, who has a shipping business, which counts Petron, owned by businessman Ramon Ang, as a customer. Tugade has his own forwarding business.
The Ayalas, businessmen Manuel Pangilinan and Ang also have ongoing multi-billion-peso stakes in big-ticket infrastructure projects such as the Metro Rail Transit System and Light Railway Transit.
“Let us not fool ourselves. In every administration, private corporations put their people in departments covering their business. Whose interests are you serving?” the Speaker asked Tugade and his officials during a House hearing.
Ang’s San Miguel Corp. also has stakes in MRT and Tugade, according to National Economic and Development Authority director general Ernesto Pernia, wanted to allow Ramon Ang-owned Manila North Harbour Port Inc. to engage in international trade, even though it has an existing contract with the Philippine Ports Authority to operate only in domestic trade.
Port stakeholders are opposing Tugade’s preferential treatment of MNHPI.
Once emergency powers are in place, Tugade told lawmakers, his department could forgo time-consuming public biddings to expedite procurement and allow negotiated contracts.
In the department’s 40-page draft bill, Tugade would have “single authority and overall traffic management and control over land, sea and air-based traffic.”
“The traffic crisis manager may modify, amend, or expand the functions of [all agencies involved in traffic in land, sea and air-based] and override their permits and licenses, as well as relevant rules and procedures,” the department’s bill said.
In land, sea and air-based transportation, Tugade will take over control of powers vested in Metro Manila Development Authority, Land Transportation Office, local government units, Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, Toll Regulatory Board, the Philippine National Police, Philippine National Railways, Philippine Ports Authority, Maritime Industry Authority, Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, Civil Aeronautics Board and the Manila International Airport Authority.
For three years, under Section 19 of the Tugade-proposed emergency powers bill, the amount needed for the implementation would be taken from the budget of the agencies he would take over, the Motor Vehicle Users Charge Fund and 10 percent of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.’s annual aggregate gross earnings that would amount to billions of pesos.
While under national emergency, “no court, except the Supreme Court, may issue any temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction… to restrain, prohibit or compel” the government from carrying out the transportation projects.
Tugade would also have power over seaports, including but not limited to the expansion of capacity of the Port of Manila, and shifting international container traffic to Batangas and Subic ports.
In air-based transportation, Tugade would have the power to develop new airports; optimize existing airports and transfer functions to alternative airports. He would also be able to grant exemption from travel tax and excise tax on aviation fuel for Clark International Airport and other airports to increase their use.
Tugade was president and chief executive officer of the Clark Development Corp. under the previous administration.
During panel hearings, Sarmiento had asked Tugade to identify and define the traffic and transportation crisis to be fixed by the proposed emergency powers.
“Failure to determine the crisis may lead to a grant of power that is misplaced or beyond what is required,” Sarmiento had said.
In the same hearing, Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate backed the idea of carefully scrutinizing the plans and programs included in the emergency powers to erase fears over possible abuse of the powers.
Alvarez and Suarez said Tugade had to assure Congress that possible conflicts of interest will not come into play.
Sarmiento said he would chair the the working group and set a hearing after Oct. 7.
“After Oct. 7, that will be the time the working group can meet and invite resource persons. Before the congressional break on Oct. 22, we will meet and then present to the mother committee what we’ve agreed upon,” said Sarmiento.
Sarmiento expressed hope the the working group will be done with the substitute bill by November and be able to present the measure to the committee on transportation.
He said the bill would subsequently be referred to the committee on appropriations because of the funding component.