Press Release
September 12, 2019

Excerpts from the Sept. 10 Committee on Public Services hearing

Excerpts from the Committee on Public Services hearing chaired by Senator Grace Poe
10 September 2019

Agenda:

  • P.S. Res. No. 55 - inquiry on provincial bus ban, filed by Sen. Poe

  • SB 213 - Emergency powers to President to address traffic, filed by Sen. Tolentino

  • P.S. Res. 81 - inquiry on the comprehensive traffic program of the government, filed by Senator Recto

Senator Ralph Recto: Nag-uumpisa lahat ito dun sa kung talagang may plano ba tayo. Kung di ako nagkakamali, noong 2014 ang NEDA nagkaroon ng kasunduan kasama ang JICA to do a Dream Plan, na pinag-aralan ang buong traffic problem sa Metro Manila at iba pang lugar. I was hoping that there would be a presentation from DOTR kung ano talaga itong planong ito. Did we adopt this plan? Is it feasible, viable? Magkano ba? Kung pinagkasunduan natin na ito ang gagawin natin, makikita natin kung kailangan ng additional power, emergency powers.

Pangalawa, ang istraktura ba natin, ang institutions in place ay capable ba to implement this plan? Ang MMDA, DOTR, DPWH dahil lahat kayo ay nakatuon sa problema ng infra, transport operations at traffic management.

Will we have a presentation on this Dream Plan? Do we have a comprehensive master plan tungkol sa traffic sa Metro Manila? Palagay ko doon tayo dapat mag-umpisa para sa ganon, ma-inform ang public, at magkaroon ng pag-asa, na ito ang mga dapat gawin.

Itong mga bus rapid transport (BRT) ba ay nakalagay sa traffic masterplan o wala naman sa Dream Plan at may ibang taong naglagay lang nito?

Nagkaroon na ba tayo ng presentation sa Kongreso particularly of this Dream Plan? And then identify kung kaya ba ng mga institutions na ito, DOTR, MMDA, DPWH na i-implement ang planong ito? Sapat ba ang pondo natin para dito? At alin ang uunahin natin? Then identify kung ano ang mga roadblocks. Ito bang BRT is part of the plan or sinasabi ba don na ito ang dapat unang gawin halimbawa?

Have you presented a plan? Wala pa akong nakikita dito. In the last 3 years wala pa akong nakikitang presentation dito sa Senado. That is why I filed this P.S. Resolution 81.

Hindi ba ang dapat mag present muna unang una, so that we are all on board, na meron tayong vision of what we want Metro Manila to look like in the future. Marami tayong sinasabi, gagawa ng subway, gusto natin lahat yon; improve the railway system, okay tayo diyan. But why don't you present a comprehensive plan? Ipakita ninyo dito. Maybe we can ask JICA to make that presentation.

Engr. Rene Santiago: I am willing to present the Dream Plan but that will take time. Maybe we can have another session. I am a member of the JICA team that formulated the Dream Plan in 2014, including the revision in 2016. I'm a member of the JICA team that prepared the Metro Cebu transport plan, and also the Cebu Masterplan. I have all the information on that. If you can schedule, I will be willing to present all those plans to give some vision and clarify.

Recto: Has the government adopted that Dream Plan?

Santiago: The NEDA in 2015 adopted the Dream Plan as the masterplan.

Recto: Are we following that masterplan?

Santiago: The construction of subway, the Mega Manila subway, the North-South commuter railway are part of that plan. The BRT are not.

Recto: It would appear that we are not following the plan.

Santiago: There are some sections that are not followed. That sort of altered the arterial or the network effect. Some of the 11 or 13 bridges plans were not part of the plan.

Recto: So binago ang plano?

Santiago: To that extent, yes, your honor.

Recto: May mali ba sa plano na kailangang baguhin?

Santiago: Adjustments are acceptable but if it changes the whole behavior of the network, it changes the integrity of the plan.

Recto: Kung masyadong maraming babaguhin at magbigay tayo ng emergency power, baka lalong sumama kung mali yung plano?

Santiago: That is the danger.

Recto: That is the danger of emergency powers kung walang plano, tama?

Santiago: Yes, senator. But I think if you want to issue emergency powers, it has to be a sniper tool rather than a (shotgun).

Recto: Correct. I understand where you're coming from. In a nutshell, maybe we should have that presentation in the future so that we are all guided accordingly, so that we understand what is the comprehensive masterplan that we have. It all begins with a plan.

Pangalawa, are our institutions capable of implementing that comprehensive plan or do we have a structural problem?

Santiago: I must admit we have institutional deficiencies in many of our agencies. Because the expertise sort of disappear or evaporate after a few years. The government has no capacity or capability to retain this experience. I noticed that deterioration and I pity Sec. Tugade for coming in an organization that is depleted of technical experts or people.

Recto: So what you are saying is that we do not have the technical experts in DOTR?

Santiago: I don't think they have reached that level that I would consider when I saw DOTR in 1985-86. I think it started deteriorating after year 2000.

Recto: And that is part of the resolution which I filed. One is the comprehensive masterplan. Second, do we agree with that plan? Is it feasible, is it viable, can we afford it? And do we have the institutions in place to implement the plan?

Iyon ang pinakamahalaga dito. Dahil kung mali ang plan at babaguhin natin and we give emergency powers, lalong delikado, hindi ho ba, Engr. Santiago?

Madam chair, maybe at the appropriate time, if not today, maybe in the future hearing, the NEDA, DOTR, the private sector involved in crafting this Dream Plan can present to the committee this comprehensive masterplan which we spent for with JICA, na pinlano na supposed to be yung comprehensive traffic plan sa Metro Manila at Cebu. Maipakita sa atin so that we can understand.

*Engr. Rene Santiago - transportation expert/consultant who was part of the JICA team which formulated the "Mega Manila Dream Plan" (The Roadmap for Transport Infrastructure Development for Metro Manila and Its Surrounding Areas). NEDA adopted this Dream Plan in 2015.

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