Senators are not rushing to endorse a proposal by the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) to grant incoming President Rodrigo R. Duterte “emergency powers” to effectively solve the worsening daily traffic mess in Metro Manila’s major thoroughfares.
“We will examine it carefully,” Sen. Juan Edgardo M. Angara, Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee said on Tuesday, referring to the proposal aired by MAP Gov. Eduardo Yap.
Angara told the BusinessMirror that the senators need to make sure that the Filipino people will not be “shortchanged” if the MAP proposal is adopted.
“The intent is good but we have to ensure the people and the government don’t get shortchanged in any sweetheart deals in the process,” Angara added. “We just have to be prudent at all times.”
Senate President Franklin M. Drilon also took a cautious stand, saying he wanted to first hear more details to “understand” the MAP proposal.
“We will just wait for the proposed legislation,” Drilon added.
Sen. Sergio R. Osmeña III indicated, however, that the MAP proposal may yet get support in Congress “if Duterte promises to prohibit boundary system, centralizes management of all buses plying Edsa, limits buses only to rightmost lane and removes 50 percent of buses on Edsa.”
Yap earlier suggested that Mr. Duterte, upon assuming the Office of the President on June 30, could declare a traffic crisis to justify wielding emergency powers to solve Metro Manila’s traffic gridlocks, saying the people are getting impatient over government’s failure to solve the lingering problem that has affected businesses and the economy.
He said Duterte could issue an executive order declaring a transport-traffic crisis in Metro Manila that Congress could use as basis to grant the incoming President extra powers to mobilize government resources and undertake emergency measures to address the problem.