The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
The 2017 budget proposals of the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) came under heavy scrutiny by lawmakers during the plenary debates because of numerous issues concerning the worsening traffic.
House Minority Leader Danilo Suarez of Quezon led lawmakers in scrutinizing the MMDA budget proposal of P2.13 billion for P2017, especially on how the agency will use this to solve the traffic problem.
“As of now, the MMDA, along with the Department of Transportation (DoTr) and the Philippine National Police-Highway Patrol Group (PNP-HPG), is formulating a master plan to address the traffic problem. The MMDA master plan should incorporate short, medium and long-term solutions to the traffic problem,” said Suarez.
Suarez said that the proposed emergency powers for President Duterte might help ease the traffic congestion problem, especially through the building of railway projects. He said the projects must be subject to transparency guidelines and close scrutiny of the people especially since these are multi-billion peso undertakings.
“If it’s no less than the President who will say he is confident of the company tasked to undertake the project because of its reasonable and fairly equitable price offering, then I think the people will accept that considering the perceived honesty of our President,” Suarez said.
Rep. Alfred D. Vargas (5th District, Quezon City), floor sponsor of the MMDA budget, urged Suarez to give the agency about 30 days to finish its traffic decongestion master plan.
Rep. Jose L. Atienza, Jr. (Party-list, Buhay) challenged new MMDA Chairman Thomas Orbos to work double time to enable the agency to fulfill its promise to make travel time improved to 1.83 minutes per kilometer.
“We will remind him the essence of the whole exercise is to ensure that roads and streets, highways and thoroughfares are left for the use of the motorists. If you can effectively enforce the law, then our traffic conditions will improve by as much as 50%. That is of course with the help of the local government units (LGUs),” Atienza said.
The MMDA’s 2017 budget of P2.13 billion is 9% higher than its current budget of P1.96 billion. The new budget will fund the following programs: solid waste disposal and management, P993.54 million; flood control and sewerage management, P751.29 million; traffic and transport management, P246.65 million; Pasig River ferry service, P119.40 million; and South-West Integrated Provincial Terminal (SWIPT), P19.48 million.