House passes Road Board abolition bill

MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives yesterday passed on third and final reading a bill that seeks to abolish the supposed graft-ridden Road Board. 

An overwhelming 180 of 292 House members voted for House Bill 7436, which would undergo deliberation by the bicameral conference committee.

Last week, Senate and House leaders agreed on how to go about the abolition of the agency as ordered by President Duterte. 

Under the substitute bill, funds collected from the motor vehicle user’s charge (MVUC) will be remitted to the National Treasury under a special account in the General Fund.

The fund will be used exclusively for the construction, upgrade, repair and rehabilitation of roads, bridges and drainage system to be included in the yearly General Appropriations Act.

The bill established a congressional oversight committee, which would monitor the implementation of the amended act and the use of the special funds.

Former House majority leader Rolando Andaya Jr., who will now be heading the House appropriations committee, said last week that Congress would consider the bill as a “tax measure.”

“The creation of the Road Board is merely incidental to the establishment of the motor vehicles user’s charge and the collection of such by the Land Transportation Authority,” Andaya said.

“Now, it will be part of the national budget for the general fund to be used in the General Appropriations Act,” he added.

The MVUC, which now amounts to P50 billion, will be used by the Duterte administration to fund rehabilitation of calamity-stricken areas in the Bicol region.