Press Release
August 13, 2019

GRACE POE CLOSING STATEMENT
Public Services Hearing
August 13, 2019

Before we officially close, the other agenda for today's hearing is Senate Bill No. 125 or An Act Establishing the National Transportation Safety Board. In the 17th Congress, there were several bills filed and this Committee came up with Committee Report No. 218 which was approved. However, due to lack of time it was not passed in the plenary.

Transportation safety is an important issue that has long languished as a second priority. The recent Iloilo-Guimaras Strait tragedy involving the capsizing of three motorized bancas, raised questions which need answers if we are to give justice to the victims and families.

I would like to manifest that the said Committee Report and other records be adopted and form part of the committee report that this committee will submit.

For the MMDA and the DOTr, please consider the immediate implementation of the 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. partial bus ban--consider, I'm not saying that you do it--but this is something that we need to think about as transport officials nodded to Congressman Villafuerte's proposal...

In the next hearing, we expect the heads of the concerned government agencies, primarily the DOTr, MMDA and DPWH Secretaries and Chairman, to attend and bring us the transport master plan for both short-, medium- and long-term. Otherwise we will assume that this country does not have a transport plan...

On the part of this committee, we will review the traffic management powers of the MMDA to see if they really have the power to implement policies such as this, and if they do, if these are valid exercises of their power. We might also have to consider giving them an expanded power base to improve the Mega-Manila areas.

Maybe we can also come up with a technical working group among all concerned government agencies, stakeholders, transport sector, commuter experts, etc.

For the MMDA, please submit to the committee the simulation of the proposal for trafic decongestion, kung talagang may napag-aralan na kayo tungkol dito. May mga bagay-bagay na maaaring makatulong maibsan ang traffic hindi lamang sa pag-ba-ban ng mga provincial buses.

Una, 'yung FTI station, kailan ba 'yan matatapos, tatanungin natin ang DPWH at tanungin din natin ang DOTr. Ang LRT-1 extension papunta sa Cavite. Ang NLEX-SLEX, diumano ay matatapos sa pagtatapos ng taon o first quarter next year.

Ang elevated walkway na hinihingian ninyo ng additional funding, pag-uusapan natin sa budget.

At ang pagbibigay ng oras para sa provincial buses at possible partnership with the private sector within Metro Manila, not Mega Manila, but within Metro Manila, para mabilis ang pagbiyahe ng ating mga kababayan at hindi sila mahihirapan na tanggalin ang mga bus terminals dito sa EDSA.

With that, I'm sorry to say, but we will need another hearing for this. Sino ba naman ang gusto ng hearing nang hearing pero kung maraming nag-a-absent, natural kailangan na namang mag-hearing.

Hindi lang po ito aksaya sa oras ng ating mga kababayan, aksaya din ito sa oras ninyo na pababalikin ko na naman.

With that, this hearing is suspended.

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