Fernando, Arroyo push for Metro Manila Traffic Crisis Act of 2016

Former President and Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Marikina City Rep. Bayani Fernando have jointly initiated the passage of the Metro Manila Traffic Crisis Act of 2016 that’s contained in House Bill (HB) 554.

“The current traffic congestion in Metro Manila has reached a crisis situation, impeding progress and leads to a situation wherein billions are lost daily in fuel cost, man hours and opportunities,” Arroyo and Fernando said.

HB 554, called “An Act prescribing related measures necessary and proper to effectively address the traffic crisis in Metro Manila and for other purposes,” hasbeenreferred to the House Committee on Metro Manila Development for its appropriate consideration and action.

The two lawmakers noted the efforts of the Duterte administration to attain an annual growth rate of at least 7 percent to make a significant dent on poverty in the country.

“One of the options to speed up growth is to hasten infrastructure development, either by the government, or [through] build-operate-transfer [scheme] or any of its variants,” they said, emphasizing that the authority granted to the President under this Act “shall subsist, be valid and effective for a period of two years from effectivity of this Act, unless sooner withdrawn by a resolution of Congress, and without prejudice to rights and benefits that may have been vested and culpabilities and liability that may have been incurred.”

The Act also mandates the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) to “set aside ten 10 percent of its annual aggregate gross earnings for the next five years as subsidy to the MMDA (Metropolitan Manila Development Authority), provided that such a percentage allocation shall be based on gross revenue after deducting the 5-percent franchise tax and the 50-percent income share of the national government.”

The authors also explained that contractors would have to accelerate the implementation and completion of infrastructure projects in Metro Manila in order to decongest it.

“Drastic traffic reduction measures also need to be undertaken through traffic management reforms,” Arroyo and Fernando said.

Under the proposed Act, the “President may enter into negotiated contracts for the construction, repair, rehabilitation, improvement or maintenance of critical infrastructure projects and facilities, subject to the following requirements:

“a) In order to inform competitive contracts, the list of projects to be undertaken under this Act, together with their description, the budgetary estimates involved and other salient features, shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation 30 days after the effectivity of this Act;

“b) Upon perfection of the contract, the terms and conditions of the same, with the name and qualification of the contractor, shall likewise be published in a newspaper of general circulation two weeks before the signing of the contract;

“c) The contracts shall be awarded only to contractors with: (i) proven competence and experience in similar projects; (ii) competent key personnel and sufficient and reliable equipment and (iii) sound financial capacity; and

“d) All the awarded projects shall be subject to existing government auditing rules and regulations governing negotiated contract.”

HB 554 also empowers the President to reorganize the MMDA to make it more effective, innovative and responsive to the traffic crisis in Metro Manila.