To solve traffic crisis; CV bids for inclusion in emergency powers

CEBU, Philippines - The Infrastructure Development Committee of the Regional Development Council in Central Visayas has proposed to include Metro Cebu in the emergency powers being sought for President Rodrigo Duterte to solve the monstrous traffic problem.

Glenn Soco, IDC chair, raised such concern yesterday at the third quarter RDC full-council meeting where he urged Cebu congressmen to lobby the inclusion of projects for Cebu that are up for immediate implementation with the grant of emergency powers.

In an interview with The FREEMAN, Soco said a special meeting of the IDC will be conducted and he wants to invite Cebu congressmen to discuss this. 

Considering the worsening traffic that Metro Cebu is experiencing, Bohol Governor Edgar Chatto, former RDC chair, said it should be included in the emergency powers. 

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) already submitted on Sept. 2 a bill to the Senate that seeks the grant of emergency powers to the President for up to three years and P1.2 trillion worth of infrastructure projects to address the traffic and congestion crisis in Metro Manila and other urbanized cities in the country.

While other urbanized cities such as Cebu and Davao are mentioned, the list of projects proposed under the emergency powers does not include projects for Cebu and Davao.

The proposed Traffic and Congestion Crisis Act of 2016 recognizes that the traffic and congestion crisis in Metro Manila and other highly urbanized cities and areas in the country have assumed the "nature and magnitude of a national emergency.”

The proposed bill cites the Greater Metro Manila as the area consisting of the National Capital Region itself, and the adjacent provinces, and cites as well Metro Cebu and Metro Davao as examples of other highly urbanized cities where traffic and congestion also need to be addressed urgently.

Soco said the RDC needs to identify critical infrastructure projects in Cebu that will be proposed to be included in the emergency powers.

Soco stressed that Cebu, being the second most important urban area after Manila, should see projects to be implemented immediately in the next six years to fast track development. 

"With the increasing volume of motor vehicles plying inadequate roads and highways in the metropolis and in other growing cities, increasing air passenger traffic beyond the capacity of the country’s existing terminals, and heavy congestion of ports, Philippine transportation infrastructure has been unable to keep up with the demands of a rising economy and growing population,” the draft bill read.

“These result in severe disruption of normal Filipino family life and in billion-peso loss in terms of overall productivity, health risks and social costs," it also said.

The emergency powers also seek to exempt the DOTr from the tedious procurement proves to speed up implementation and development of infrastructure projects.

Earlier reports quoted Senator Grace Poe as saying that speedy procurement process is one of the proposed solutions to transportation crisis.

Poe, the Senate's chair on Committee on Public Services, said a report on the issue will be submitted to the plenary by November. (FREEMAN)