MAP wish list: More infra, less traffic, tax reforms

MANILA, Philippines - Solutions to the country’s traffic woes topped the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP)’s wish list for the Duterte administration in its first 100 days in office, along with the passage of a law that would grant the President emergency powers to deal with the problem.

MAP said President Duterte should instruct the Department of Transportation to come up with short-, medium- and long-term solutions to Metro Manila’s traffic and transportation problems, with EDSA as the priority target.

The business group is also asking the government to simplify the tax system and speed up infrastructure development.

It wants bills on amendments to the Constitution, the Anti-Money Laundering Act, Bank Secrecy Law and the Build-Operate-Transfer Law passed.

MAP said a “traffic crisis” must be declared and the administration should secure emergency powers from Congress so the President could address it by “mobilizing all government resources and undertaking necessary measures unhampered by appointment, procurement, budgetary and Commission on Audit regulations during its pendency.”

Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez’s bill or the proposed “Traffic Crisis Act” seeks to grant emergency powers to Duterte for two years to do away with the mandatory bidding on procurement of transportation equipment and take over errant transport franchises to solve the traffic mess on roads and airports in Metro Manila and Cebu.

The bill also proposes the creation of a “superbody” that will address the road and air traffic congestion in Metro Manila and Cebu province.

The group is likewise pushing for the creation of a high-level working committee that will review and recommend within 100 days how to make the tax system simpler to administer, fairer to taxpayers and more attractive to investors.

Aside from the passage of various bills, the MAP called on the new administration to create a high-level group that would review and make recommendations that would fast-track the process of implementing and awarding public-private partnership projects, particularly those pertaining to infrastructure, transportation, energy and water.

The MAP likewise wants to see fast-tracked development of international airports, particularly those that have already been identified and started earlier, as well as decide on the location of a new international airport through an executive order mandating all concerned agencies’ participation.

The business group also called for a literally cleaner Philippines.

“Outside of ridding the country of drug lords and drug pushers, corrupt officials and other criminal elements, we need to clean our surroundings of dirt, debris, garbage and unsightliness. A simple requirement for all households and offices to provide rubbish bins everywhere and penalizing littering will go a long way in cleaning up the country,” the group said as it asked the Duterte administration to issue an EO for such purpose.