MANILA, July 7 — The House of Representatives’ appropriations committee has approved the funding provisions for the measure that seeks to grant the Duterte administration emergency powers to address the perennial traffic problem in the metropolis.
In a statement on Friday, committee chair and Davao Rep. Karlo Alexei Nograles revealed that the panel approved a general provision for House Bill 4334 or the proposed “Traffic Crisis Act of 2016 Maki-isa, Makisama, Magka-isa” aimed at addressing the traffic congestion hounding Metro Manila, Metro Cebu, and Davao City.
“We have to equip the President with necessary powers to address the immense and growing traffic dilemma which affects not only Metro Manila but most of the country’s urban centers,” Nograles said.
Nograles said the traffic gridlock in Metro Manila and in other urban centers has reached the magnitude of a national emergency and therefore extraordinary measures are needed to ensure the swift implementation of policy and infrastructural reforms aimed at solving the country’s traffic woes.
Nograles expressed confidence that the proposed Traffic Crisis Act and other vital legislation will go full swing through plenary soon after the President’s State of the Nation Address on July 24. (Filane Mikee Cervantes/PNA)
