The House of Representatives ended on Friday the plenary deliberation on the P73.8 billion proposed budget of the Department of Transportation (DOtr) for next year.
The DOTr budget will be used mainly to fund the massive government infrastructure program dubbed “Build, Build, Build” which aims to improve mobility across the country and modernize the country’s public transportation system.
The DOTr’s proposed appropriation is much higher that its budget of P55.4 billion this year.
The funding increase is in line with the Duterte administration’s commitment to address the huge transport infrastructure backlog in the country.
During the period of interpellation, Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate (Party- list, Bayan Muna) raised several issues regarding the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) 3 expansion and rehabilitation.
Zarate said the procurement of additional Light Rail Vehicles (LRV) for MRT 3 in the amount of P4.5 billion was originally included among the projects under the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP), which had been already declared as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court (SC).
He said since the DAP was already declared unconstitutional, the LRVs were then funded in the same amount under the 2014 General Appropriations Act (GAA) as part of the lines capacity expansion program itemized as CAPEX I.
Despite their delivery on August 15, 2015 to January 2017, the LRVs have remained non-operational and unaccepted because of deficiencies noted by the Commission on Audit (COA), said Zarate.
Minority Leader Rep. Danilo Suarez (3rd District, Quezon) raised the issue of traffic in Metro Manila which was inherited by the present administration.
“Kanino po ang isyu ng traffic, Department of Interior and Local Government-Philippine National Police (DILG-PNP), DOTr or Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA)?,” said Suarez.
Rep. Federico Sandoval III (Lone District, Malabon City), sponsor of the DOTr budget, said the MMDA has been steadily enforcing traffic rules in coordination with the local government units (LGUs).
Suarez said that he filed a measure seeking to eliminate 30 percent of the vehicles on the road every day.
“Gawin po natin 1, 2, and 3 bawal po ng Lunes. The proper implementation of number coding lies with this agency. This is a big sacrifice and we will be totally unpopular in the eyes of the public. Pero kung hindi naman natin gagawin ito lahat po tayo ay mapi-perwisyo,” said Suarez.
On the issue of impounded vehicles, Suarez mentioned the COA findings that the custodianship of impounded vehicles is assigned to the security guards on duty.
He said the accountability over these vehicles is a compromise. Furthermore, he said that the responsibility and liability of the security agency in case of theft or loss or unauthorized use of vehicle is also not clearly defined in the security contract.
On the issue of Uber and Grab, Suarez asked if these transportation utilities are under the direct control and supervision of DOTr.
Sandoval said Uber and Grab are under the jurisdiction of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB). He said they give employment to Filipinos who want to get into the ride hailing service, especially the Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs).
Furthermore, Sandoval said that Uber and Grab are paying the corresponding taxes. According to Uber, they paid $25 million last year.
“As far as employment is concerned, a lot of our OFWs, when they retire, they come here. They buy a car and they see this business as an opportunity for them to earn money,” said Sandoval.
He said the Road Board, through the help of Transportation Undersecretary Thomas Orbos, already approved the budget of P800 million for the purchase of a motor vehicle inspection system.
“We will be implementing the no-clearance, no-registration policy. Hopefully, by December ay ma-implement na ito and I assure you that the project will be properly implemented,” said Sandoval. / EAG | congress-pr
