SENATOR Grace Poe, chairman of the Senate Committee on public services, is not convinced President Rodrigo Duterte should be given emergency powers to solve the traffic problems gripping Metro Manila and other cities in the country.
“We still cannot say because they have not submitted what’s really their problem, their projects; so we cannot tell if we can already give [him the] emergency power,” she said Thursday after presiding over the hearing on the grant of emergency power, attended by officials of the Department of Transportation and Metro Manila Development Authority.
She noted that emergency powers should have specific time frame, clear and specific scope to ensure that it will not curtail-freedom.
She clarified that the Senate and the House of Representatives will also have the right to suspend the emergency powers of Duterte if it’s not properly implemented and will be used for other purposes.
According to Poe, they will need two weeks to prepare (a recommendation) as they still plan to invite mayors to know the impact on their constituencies.
But Poe believes emergency powers are needed in the acquisition of right of way to speed up the infrastructure projects that will improve the country’s transport system.
The Department of Transportation, the proponent of the emergency powers for President Duterte, said it needs a total P200 billion to cover infrastructure projects, of which P150 billion was intended for railway system that will decongest traffic in Metro Manila roads.
DOTr Undersecretary Anne Lontoc told the Senate panel it may take three years to resolve the alarming traffic situation in Metro Manila, even if emergency powers were given to the President.
She said improvements can be felt during the latter part of 2018 to 2019.
But DOTr officials also confirmed emergency powers will do away with the procurement process that tends to become tedious and causes delays on major road projects.
In her opening statement, Poe took a swipe at former Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya who said the traffic problem in the Metro is not fatal.
Poe said: “Perhaps he hadn’t thought that traffic causes health expenses related to pollution. Let (us) consider the commuters’ woes which start at dawn and sometimes end at midnight. They lack sleep, haven’t eaten yet, couldn’t go to the restroom, smell smoke, standing or sitting for so long due to traffic.
“It may not be fatal, but your life would surely shorten because of it. Plus, it is also fatal to the economy.”
She acknowledged that traffic plans do not materialize because of lack of consultation with stakeholders and commuters on the ground.
“Most often, transport plans fail, not because they are not good enough, but they suffer from the fatal handicap of (leaders) not consulting people on the ground,” she said.
Senator Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito himself has batted for long-term solutions to the “hellish” traffic conditions in Metro Manila and other population centers.
He cited the need to prioritize transportation projects like railways that would efficiently move goods and people while occupying less space.
“I have been vocal in sharing my advocacy of upgrading the railways across the country, particularly of the Philippine National Railways (PNR) in the last five years,” said Ejercito.
“Unfortunately, the same traffic and transport concerns that we had in 2010 when I was still a member of the House of Representatives remain unresolved up to this day, and the situation is much more aggravated,” he added. “
Now, traffic costs us at least P3 billion daily,” lamented Ejercito who, as vice chairperson of the Senate Public Services Committee, laid down recommendations on how to resolve the transportation crisis.
He said one of the earliest measures he filed is Senate Bill No. 154 which seeks to grant special powers to the President to address the transportation crisis.
He added he filed Senate Resolution No. 63 to probe air traffic congestion at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), while pushing for measures like the Philippine National Railways (PNR) Modernization Act and the Train Protection Act.
Ejercito said his bill titled “Transportation Crisis Act of 2016” seeks to reform the country’s transportation sector in the long run through a comprehensive road map which shall reform national public transportation to ensure an efficient, sustainable, safe, clean and integrated air, land and sea transportation system.
“I believe there is no other way (better) than the railway system to address the traffic congestion and hasten the movement of goods and shipments in Metro Manila to other areas,” said Ejercito.
He cited Singapore’s success with its own railway system which he said he wants to see replicated in the Philippines.
Ejercito pointed out the pressing need to rehabilitate the trains, upgrade the service and operations, fix other infrastructures and facilities such as elevators, escalators and washrooms; and to provide for additional wagons for the MRT, LRT, and PNR.
“The new administration also needs to give priority over major infrastructure projects such as the North-South Railway Project and the Mindanao Railway Project,” he said.
The projects he cited would boost economic development by lowering the cost of movement of goods and people, and by reducing the cost of living, not just in major cities, but also in the countryside.
He also called for alternative modes of public transportation such as expanding and developing the current operation of Metro ferries, and the use of a Bus Rapid Transit or BRT, first introduced in Bogota, Colombia.
According to studies, a BRT along EDSA could have as much as one million passengers in one whole day.
This could be done if there are 96 BRTs traversing the highway, and having at least a 2-minute interval from each other.
“Our serious transport problems need serious solutions. It is high time we seriously developed our mass public transportation system and address our weakness in public infrastructure,” said Ejercito.
Senator Win Gatchalian himself is pushing for a similar measure to address air traffic congestion in the skies above Metro Manila by filing Senate Bill No. 1067, or the Air Traffic Act.
The Air Traffic Act proposes a two-year grant of emergency powers which would empower the President to make drastic reforms in air transportation by consolidating air traffic regulatory and management authorities, while also streamlining procurement and eminent domain procedures for the speedy construction of key infrastructure, especially runways.
Gatchalian said: “At this point, the traffic in the skies is as bad as the traffic on our streets. Before, we only had road rage, but now we are seeing reports of ‘air rage’ as frustrated passengers lash out at our broken aviation sector.
“In the interest of passenger safety and sanity, we must give the President a free hand in bringing change to the dismal air traffic situation above Metro Manila.”
In the bill’s explanatory note, Gatchalian mentioned the existing runways at Ninoy Aquino International Airport can only accommodate an average of 36 takeoffs and landings per hour, while the overflowing schedule of commercial and general flights often require as many as 50 runway events per hour.
The strained capacity of NAIA’s runways has made flight delays and cancellations daily occurrences, causing the International Air Transport Association to declare NAIA as a high-risk airport due to unresolved safety issues and poor infrastructure.
Gatchalian said: “The magnitude of the air traffic situation is alarming. All efforts must be directed to expedite the improvement of existing facilities, building of new infrastructure, use of new hubs outside of Metro Manila, and other urgent measures to address the air traffic emergency.”
To ensure the proper and effective use of the emergency powers, the Air Traffic Act calls for the formation of an oversight committee composed of members of both houses of Congress, to whom the President will be required to submit a quarterly report on the actions taken under the provisions of the law.
