Senate Committee on Public Services Chairperson Grace Poe cites lack of study as the reason why she is not keen on endorsing the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system.
This system was recently proposed to the Senate by the Department of Transportation (DOTr).
If approved, its Line 1 operations will cover Manila and Quezon City while Line 2 will cover Edsa Ayala, Ortigas-BGC up to NAIA.
“Bakit naman tayo susugal sa isang hindi pa napapatunayan o nasasaliksik na proyekto? (Why will we gamble on a project that has not been studied?)” she asks.
The senator says, the past administration had engaged in transport-related deals that were not reviewed and lawmakers failed to scrutinize the contracts before they were signed.
She, however, agrees that mass transportation and solving the perennial traffic jams in Metro Manila should be prioritized.
Poe hesitates in backing the Duterte administration’s request for emergency powers to solve the traffic crisis.
She wonders why the emergency powers being sought have to be widened to cover the whole country, instead of just the National Capital Region (NCR).