Wednesday, December 13, 2017

Grace Poe wants Duterte to certify emergency powers urgent



 (The Philippine Star) |

MANILA, Philippines — If President Duterte is truly concerned about decongesting Metro Manila, then the time to act is now, Sen. Grace Poe said yesterday. 
Poe said that while the envisioned development of areas outside Metro Manila would not be achieved in the near future, the Duterte administration could start the ball rolling by the President certifying the proposed emergency powers for traffic as urgent.
“Metro Manila may have no future if we do not act now. We should look at old cities like Rome, Tokyo, London and New York that have adapted to change, which means that with proper planning, Metro Manila can become a vibrant, livable and sustainable community just like its counterparts abroad,” she added.
In a speech in Pampanga on Thursday, Duterte said Metro Manila would be “dead” in 25 years because of decay and the worsening traffic.
The President said that 10 years from now, Manila should be “closed” and areas such as Pampanga should be developed to bring in new investments. 
In order to achieve this, Poe said the government should seriously consider and push for outward development to decongest Metro Manila for the medium to long term. 
 “But right now we have to jumpstart that initiative. For this, political will is needed and the emergency powers could come in handy if only the President would certify this as urgent,” Poe said.“Perhaps with the ‘Build, Build, Build’ projects of President Duterte like the Mega Manila subway, the completion of NLEX, SLEX, etc., we can see a marked improvement in the near future,” she added.
The emergency powers for traffic bill is currently being tackled in both the Senate and the House of Representatives in plenary.

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