Senators on
Monday started refining safeguards to ensure the grant of emergency
powers—limited to three years—to the Duterte administration to solve the
traffic crisis would not be abused.
Appearing before
senators tasked to scrutinize President Duterte’s proposed extra powers, Transport
Secretary Arthur P. Tugade promptly assured that the safeguards to be set
by the Committee on Public Services chaired by Sen. Grace Poe “will be
followed.”
During a break in the
marathon hearing, Poe confirmed to reporters the proposed law granting
emergency powers to Duterte to address the transport crisis will be limited to
three years.
She added that the law
they are crafting would require that all biddings for projects to be undertaken
under the emergency powers “should be open.”
“We
also need to define the limitations of the extra powers, including how long
would it take and who are the responsible officials here,” the senator said.
“We owe it to the public to erase from their minds these powers would not be
abused and there would be no excesses,” Poe added.
Detailed plan
She said they would
need to craft an emergency-powers bill “that is detailed and we will
require
timelines and identify who are the responsible officials.”
timelines and identify who are the responsible officials.”
She suggested to
administration officials at the hearing it is time to develop an
integrated multimodal transport system, even as Senate Minority Leader Ralph G.
Recto insisted that government biddings for traffic-reduction measures “should
be in favor” of road users and commuters.
In taking turns
“grilling” Tugade on details of the Palace-requested emergency powers to
address the traffic mess, the committee members initially tackled:
Institutional reforms—including
suggestions to merge the Department of Transportation and the
Metropolitan Manila Development Authority into a single agency;
Policy
reforms—including relocation of 27 bus terminals in Edsa (formerly Highway 54)
and opening up private subdivisions as alternative routes to ease traffic in
major thoroughfares;
Relaxing difficult
procurement rules and exemptions from temporary restraining orders; and
Enlisting more partners in public-private railway industry, among others.
Sen. Richard J.
Gordon, however, cited potential issues involving resettlement of residents
along train side tracks that he observed would require social engineering. He
asked the proponents to also lay out legal issues to be reckoned with.
Tugade, for his part,
backed the transfer of government agencies outside of Metro Manila. To
decongest the metropolis, the secretary said he is willing to move the
Department of Transportation’s head office from Quezon City to the former Clark
Air Base in Pampanga.
Done by Christmas
Poe said the committee
also intends to invite officials of the Department of the Interior and Local
Government, Department of Budget and Management and the National Economic
Development Authority for their inputs in the next hearing.
“We are looking to pass
the emergency-powers law before Congress adjourns for Christmas recess,” the
senator told reporters, adding that they plan to conduct two hearings a week to
meet their self-imposed deadline.
She added that they
hope to finish the hearings and submit the bill for plenary deliberations
before the Christmas break in December. “It is important for the public
to be assured that we are following the right process kasi delikado talaga kapag binibigay sa
isang tao ang kapangyarihan,” Poe told reporters.
FOI-compliant
At the same
time, Poe, in winding up the initial hearing on Wednesday, said the
emergency-powers law requested by the Duterte administration must comply with
transparency provisions of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act.
“There should be no
room for abuses in the exercise of the President’s emergency powers to solve
the traffic mess crippling the metropolis and other urban areas,” Poe said, as
she assured proposals in solving traffic woes will be put into closer
scrutiny by the Senate.
The senator
indicated they would insist that all contracts and transactions that the
government will enter into must be transparent. “First, it must be
FOI-compliant. This is one nonnegotiable principle,” Poe declared, while
presiding over the initial public hearing.
“Though we are open to
innovation, we must also be responsible with our actions. Giving the President
emergency powers necessarily raises concerns about concentration of powers to
one person, as these could easily be abused. We must have clear-cut
parameters as to what constitutes as an emergency. Second, we must be clear on
what those emergency powers will be used for and whether they can effectively
address the problems,” she added.
‘We will cooperate’
Still, Poe also
assured Malacañang “we will not be competing with you in finding problems, we
will be cooperating with you in finding solutions,” even pointing out that
current transportation woes require “extraordinary powers to solve.
“What are the
limitations of the emergency powers? It should be clear that timetables must be
set for specific projects, how much is the implementation cost and who are
responsible,” Poe later told reporters, adding that a “traffic czar” should be
appointed to take responsibility.
Senator Juan Edgardo M.
Angara indicated that senators may include provisions in the emergency-powers
bill setting “limitations to bidding.”
Angara asserted that
what is important is for the bidding of projects be “open to the public.” There
should also be monthly reports, he added.
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