MANILA, Philippines – Congress should scrutinize all contracts for transportation and traffic-related projects to be negotiated by the Duterte administration in case it is given emergency powers to solve the traffic crisis, Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said yesterday.
“We always want the best deal for the government and a strong congressional oversight is needed for this,” he said.
Belmonte said he supports the proposal to give the incoming president emergency powers to untangle the traffic mess, but such authority “should have a duration.”
Belmonte, vice chairman of the outgoing ruling Liberal Party (LP), proposed that such special authority be limited to two years.
Another LP member, Ifugao Rep. Teodoro Baguilat Jr., said Congress should not abdicate its power of oversight over government transactions even if there is supposed to be an emergency to solve the traffic crisis.
“The review of government contracts should always be part of the congressional oversight function,” Baguilat said.
For his part, Akbayan Rep. Ibarra Gutierrez said there might be no need for emergency powers since the present executive authority of the incoming president could be enough.
“Why should we need to have emergency powers for the executive to solve traffic mess? That could lead to abuse of government discretion in awarding infrastructure projects to choice contractors,” he said.
In case Congress agrees to the proposed grant of special authority, it should prescribe “clear limitations to prevent the abuse of power,” he said.
He proposed that the exercise of such authority should be “shorter than two years.”
Incoming transportation secretary Arthur Tugade has not revealed the specifics of the emergency powers president-elect Rodrigo Duterte would ask Congress to grant him shortly after he assumes office.
Aside from Belmonte, other congressmen have expressed support for such grant.
“Congress should give emergency powers to the incoming president. The horrendous traffic in Metro Manila and nearby provinces has caused wasteful fuel consumption, worsening pollution, loss of man hours, and lessened economic productivity,” Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez said.
“More importantly, the terrible traffic mess is anti-poor, because it is causing our workers to be late for work or reducing their rest hours as they have to wake up very early so they can reach their workplace on time,” he said.
Isabela Rep. Rodolfo Albano III said the ban on the construction of new malls along EDSA should be included in the special authority to be given to Duterte.
“We can no longer remove all those big malls along EDSA. What the government can do is to prohibit new malls and similar big establishments that attract people like recreation and gaming centers along the entire stretch of that busy highway – from Caloocan City to Pasay City,” he said.
Albano also suggested that transport terminals located on EDSA should be relocated outside Metro Manila.
He noted that the portions of EDSA that are always congested even during odd hours are those in Cubao, where several transport terminals are clustered.
He pointed out that the government has been planning to transfer the EDSA terminals but has not started to actually do so.
“The proposed special powers should hasten their relocation, which will surely result in the removal of traffic chokepoints in the EDSA-Cubao area,” he stressed.