Traffic emergency powers, Cha-cha measures filed

MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Franklin Drilon filed yesterday a bill seeking to grant President Duterte emergency powers to deal with the transportation crisis not only in Metro Manila, but also in other major urban areas.

At the House of Representatives, Quezon City Rep. Feliciano Belmonte Jr. has re-filed his resolution seeking to amend the economic provisions of the Constitution by giving Congress the power to lift restrictions on foreign ownership of land and businesses.

Resolution of Both Houses No. 2 is one of 11 measures introduced by Belmonte on Thursday, the start of the term of office of members of the 17th Congress.

Davao del Norte Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez authored RBH No. 1, which asks Congress to convene a constitutional convention to work on the President’s proposal to shift the nation to a federal system of government.

Alvarez is Duterte’s choice for speaker, whom the House will elect when Congress convenes on July 25.

It’s also the day when Duterte will deliver his first State of the Nation Address.

The last Congress failed to pass Belmonte’s economic Charter change measure.

Under his resolution, the phrase “unless otherwise provided by law” would be inserted in the Charter’s provisions that limit foreign ownership of land and businesses.

Belmonte said the present limitations would remain, but Congress would have the power to lift them in the future if necessary.

He said the growing global interest in Asia provides an opportunity for the country to compete for more investments.

“Statistics show that despite the economic growth, poverty incidence remained constant for the past six years, thus the need to urgently address this issue,” he said.

“In order to realize the full benefit of inclusive growth, the restrictive economic provisions in the Constitution, which hamper the flow of foreign capital investments, must be lifted,” he stressed.

Belmonte’s resolution will take the legislative route of proposing Charter change.

It will have to be approved by a vote of three-fourths of all members of the House and the Senate, with the two chambers voting separately.

The 10 other measures Belmonte filed are bills, one of which seeks to include casinos in the coverage of the Anti-Money Laundering Law.

The proposed law was apparently prompted by the cyber theft of $81 million in Bangladeshi funds, which were diverted to four bogus accounts in Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. and eventually ended up with two casinos – Solaire Resort and Casino and Midas Hotel and Casino.

Bangladesh is still trying to recover the stolen funds.

Drilon said the emergency power being sought for Duterte will capacitate him in addressing the horrendous traffic situation within and outside Metro Manila.

“The emergency power is already a ‘necessity’ given the magnitude of the transportation crisis that not only impedes the mobility of people, goods and services, but also threatens the livability of our cities,” he said.

Under Senate Bill 11, the proposed Transportation Crisis Act of 2016, the President will be authorized to adopt alternative methods of procurement for the construction, repair, rehabilitation, improvement or maintenance of transportation projects aimed at the reduction of traffic congestion in Metro Manila and other urban areas.

These include limited source bidding, direct contracting, repeat order, shopping and negotiated procurement.

Drilon also sought the establishment of a sole urban traffic management authority to streamline the management of traffic.

He said poor traffic management woes are mainly due to the poor enforcement of traffic rules and the overlapping functions of government institutions like the Department of Transportation and its attached agencies Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board and Land Transportation Office, as well as the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority and local governments.

Drilon said the MMDA and the DOT should be the sole urban traffic management authority in Metro Manila and other urban areas.

The bill also seeks to allow the President to reorganize the DOT and its attached agencies LTFRB and LTO, and the MMDA.

The proposed emergency powers will be effective for two years and the funds needed to implement it are to be sourced from the proceeds from the Motor Vehicle User’s Charge Fund, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. and the current budget of the agencies involved.

Drilon said traffic congestion resulted in an estimated productivity loss of around P2.4 billion a day or more than P800 billion a year.

“If the traffic congestion continues to be unabated, the traffic cost is expected to increase to P6 billion a day,” he said, citing a study conducted by the Japan International Cooperation Agency in 2014.

Various urban areas like Metro Cebu and Cagayan de Oro are also experiencing horrible traffic congestion, which hampered growth and development, Drilon said.

Priority bills

Senators have lined up their legislative priorities when Congress opens on July 25.

Sen. Loren Legarda said her priority bills for the 17th Congress were consistent with her advocacies to promote inclusive, sustainable and resilient development.

“My priority bills are those that espouse the advocacies that I have been known for – environmental preservation, climate change adaptation and mitigation, equitable use of our natural resources, energy efficiency, preservation of heritage and promotion of Filipino culture and arts,” she said.

Sen. Cynthia Villar vowed to work for the passage of bills seeking to protect the plight of farmers and fisherfolk, as well as those of the overseas Filipino workers.

Villar also vowed to pass within the year the bill seeking to grant a P2,000 across-the-board increase in the pension of 1.9 million Social Security System members.

Sen. Paolo Benigno Aquino IV meanwhile vowed to fulfill his campaign promise to alleviate poverty through entrepreneurship, employment and education legislation.

He filed the proposed Free Education in State Colleges and Universities Act, Free Education for Children of Public School Teachers’ Children, Abot Alam and the Trabaho Center in Schools bills.

Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, the principal author of the Reproductive Health Law, has filed a bill seeking to allow divorce in the country.

Lagman said the bill aims to gives the opportunity to spouses in irremediably failed marriages to secure an absolute divorce decree under limited grounds and well-defined procedures to avoid abuse, save the children from the pain and stress of their parents’ marital clashes and grant the divorced spouses the right to marry again for another chance to achieve marital bliss.