Speaker to DOTr: Address traffic congestion in MM

MANILA, Philippines - Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez renewed his appeal yesterday for Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Arthur Tugade to address the worsening traffic congestion in Metro Manila, especially during the Christmas holidays.

“They don’t need emergency powers to attend to this problem. They don’t even have to be brilliant. All they need is common sense,” Alvarez said in an interview over dzMM.

Alvarez noted that traffic congestion along EDSA has worsened in the past few days and that an increasing number of motorists have been complaining.

The Speaker reminded Tugade that more than two months ago, he had complained personally to the DOTr chief during a House hearing about the unavailability of vehicle license plates and drivers’ licenses.

“Up to now, plates and licenses are still not available,” Alvarez said.

He said the House would not approve the emergency powers bill unless those tasked to improve traffic know what to do.

“We cannot give them blanket authority. They have not even submitted specific plans on what problems and solutions are to be covered by emergency powers, and what contracts they intend to negotiate. We will not give them blanket authority to negotiate contracts worth P8 trillion,” Alvarez said.

Occidental Mindoro Rep. Josephine Sato called for science and technology-based solutions to the country’s traffic woes.

Sato said the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) should take the lead in pursuing technology-related approaches to traffic congestion in urban centers.

“The DOST has several pilot mass transport projects such as the hybrid electric road train that can be deployed as a point-to-point transport system,” she said.

The department has an electric train that can augment the existing Philippine National Railways fleet and the monorail project that can be used in secondary roads connecting to the Metro Rail Transit 3 and Light Rail Transit systems, Sato said.

“These are projects that can help ease the daily commute of Filipinos, improve mass transport system and in the long run help decongest the metropolis. The government and the private sector must support these projects,” she said.

Sato chairs the Commission on Appointments science and technology committee that endorsed the confirmation of DOST Secretary Fortunato de la Peña.

She said inventions, not emergency powers, are what the government needs to address traffic problems.

“Inter-agency synergy and cooperation coupled with belief and trust in our local engineers and scientists – this is the key to our traffic woes,” she said.